History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 92

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 92

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Like most editors, he was fond of having his paper talked about, and loved much now and then to create a sensation. To that end he would occasionally con- centrate in one of his little paragraphs enough material to serve most editors for a column-charging a perfect little homb-shell-perhaps offensive from its personal application, or roughly divulging some private matter.

Like most editors, too, he was pleased to see his arti- cles going the rounds of the press ; and he knew well how to accomplish the end by inserting that which, from its bare oddity, would be snapped up. For in- stance, he, upon one calm summer morning startled the community with the bold announcement,- "Huckleberries is ripe." And the press all over the country echoed his announcement. It was customary in former days, as well as now, for people to complain of the dilatoriness of the Legislature. And Mr. Lum- mus once issued his paper with the usual conspicuous heading, "Legislative Proceedings," in one of its columns, followed by a long blank space. It was thought to be a good joke ; but he said the best of the joke was that it saved the setting of so many types.

The Mirror was discontinued in March, 1832, the proprietor having become involved, and the income not meeting the expenses. In the summer of the same year he published the first Directory of Lynn. It was a small 12mo, of seventy pages, with paper covers, and contained such information as is usually found in publications of the kind.

Mr. Lummus now passed some four years without any regular, settled employment. He worked a little at printing, kept a circulating library for a short time, had one or two classes in French and several in music. His plan in teaching French was to learn a lesson one day and teach it the next, thus keeping one step ahead of his pupils, and so near them as to see all the difficulties of the way-so he said-and his success was so satisfactory that one large class made him a valuable present.

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There is no doubt that Mr. Lummus did much to awaken and foster a love for literature and other re- fining influences in the little community, and that we of the present generation owe a debt of gratitude for that. In the columns of his little paper the writings of Miss Fuller, Enoch Curtin, Solomon Moulton and quite a number of others first appeared. And Mr. Lewis was a contributor to its columns as long as it existed. He was in some sort a literary "head-cen- tre," and his quaint and unpretentious criticisms doubtless had much influence in rectifying the style of inexperienced writers. Many times has the writer heard him remark, in his serio-comic undertone, while looking over a manuscript and ruthlessly draw- ing his expunging pen through passages, no doubt, thought by the writer to be the most brilliant : "There is a flower without any smell ; " or, "There is no nub to that."

Early in 1838 the health of Mr. Lummus began seriously to fail ; and it was not long before he was compelled to take to his room and then to his bed. The writer often visited him then, for, being in sick- ness and adversity, he was neglected by most of those who, in his brighter days, had been cheered by his friendship. He was usually cheerful, for his Christian faith was strong, and he seemed to feel no regret at the near approach of death. But to the last his nat- ural eccentricities would occasionally exhibit them- selves. One afternoon, just before his death, the bell happened to toll for a funeral. He heard it and re- marked, "There, there is that old bell again ; well, it will toll for me in a few days, I suppose," without any apparent conception that it would strike one as an unseemly remark. At another time he was found sitting up eating a piece of toast, and, in reply to the inquiry as to how he felt, said: " Oh, your grandsir will be well enough in a few days, I guess." But after he had retired, and one was at his bed-side to bid him good-night, he explained by saying that his remark might have savored of levity ; that it had reference to his death, which would probably take place in a few days ; and he certainly trusted that all would be well with him.

It was on the 20th of April, 1838, at the age of thirty-seven, that Mr. Lummus closed his life. He had marked singularities of character, but always proved so fast a friend and agreeable companion that he was universally beloved. And he had such an hon- esty of purpose, and strong desire to " do a little good in the world," as he expressed it, that his memory is more worthy of being cherished than many of higher pretensions and greater renown. Says Mr. Lewis : " He was an excellent musician, and a choice spirit. Few young men in Lynn were ever more extensively beloved or more deserved to be. But thou art dead ! 'Alas ! poor Yorick !' Thine is a loss to be thought about, and thou shalt long live in our love."

Such was the beginning of printing in Lynn ; such the first printer and his outfit; such the first news-

paper, its character and success. Since that time many papers have arisen, flourished for a time and passed away ; but there has hardly ever been a period without one or two respectable journals. At the present time (1887) we have the following :

The Lynn Reporter (weekly), established in 1854.

The Lynn City Item (weekly), established in 1876. Daily Evening Item, established in 1877.

The Lynn Bee (daily), established in 1880.

They are all on the high road of prosperity, in a pecuniary way, each being far in advance of all the others, according to their individual claims. But then, money-making is, of course, a mere secondary matter with the worthy publishers. And as to editorial management, it may be remarked that every sheet bears evidence that not one of the editors would reasonably be expected, in the accustomed modesty of the craft, to deny that he is the ablest of the entire brotherhood. Commendation, however, is needless here, and criticism would be unbecoming.

There are a number of book and job offices, besides the offices at which newspapers are printed. And the work turned out is quite equal in accuracy and ele- gance to that done elsewhere in the commonwealth.

CHAPTER XVI. LYNN -- (Continued).

INDUSTRIAL PURSUITS.

Iron Works, First in America- Planting and Fishing-Cloth Manufacture -The Great Shoe and Leather Trade ; its History and Present Condition- Other Manufactures-Statistics Pertaining to the Different Trudes, Inter- spersed.

" Earth is the work-shop of mankind, And we're all workers here, With busy hand or busy mind, Each in bis destined sphere. Work's higher wage-content and health- Its lesser-luxury and wealth."

IN a very short time after the settlement of Lynn was commenced, mechanics of the few kinds neces- sary to supply the limited wants of the people ap- peared. Even before the Colonial Patent was re- moved to New England, which was in August, 1629, the company at home were careful to see that a suffi- cient number of skilled artificers were sent over.

IRON WORKS .- The first undertaking of general im- portance was the establishment of the iron works on the border of Saugus River. These works were com- menced as early as 1643, and formed an enterprise worthy of more extended notice than can be attempted here. The undertaking was one of unquestionable importance, not only to the narrow circle of settlers in this immediate vicinity, but to the whole country. It may, indeed, like many other great projects, have been induced and fostered by hopes of pecuniary gain

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to those directly concerned ; but certain it is that it resulted in great general good, though it ended in financial disaster and vexation in individual instances. Yet, after all, it is by no means certain that individ- ual selfishness was the mainspring of the scheme. The Massachusetts Company evidently realized the im- portance of such works to the settlers, for before the re- moval of the patent the subject was earnestly dis- cussed, and at a meeting in London, March 2, 1628- 29, an agreement seems to have been made with a Mr. Malbon, "he having skyll in iron works," to come hither on a prospecting tour.

These works at Lynn have been spoken of as the first in America; but the claim that those at Brain- tree were the first is not forgotten. After patient re- search, however, the writer is convinced that the claim cannot be substantiated. Mr. Malbon is known to have been here as early as October, 1629, and seems first to have settled at Salem. Now Braintree is some twenty-five miles away, and that distance, in the al- most entire absence of roads, was a serious matter. Why, then, should he have gone so far away, and into another jurisdiction, when ore could be found so near at hand as Saugus ?

It is evident that some of the workmen at Braintree were previously employed in Lynn, among them Henry Leonard, who came over in 1642, to engage in the Lynn works. But after all, a priority of two or three years in the establishment of such a business is of little importance, though it is well to be exact, con- sidering that sometimes other and material facts may be dependent.

It is apparent that though the Lynn Iron Works were not sustained by local capital-for there was little here-some of our leading men were active in promoting their establishment. Robert Bridges, for instance, in 1642, took specimens of the ore to Eng- land, and was, in truth, instrumental in forming the company. And Thomas Dexter, who owned some of the land in which the ore was found also took a lively interest in the enterprise. It is, therefore, unjust to call it a mere English speculation. The people of Lynn did what they could to help along the busi- ness.

Smelting, forging and casting were carried on at these works, as well as blacksmithing and various other branches of metal work. And it is singular that there was not better success. One or two inven- tions cf a very useful kind were perfected by some of those employed here; notably by Joseph Jenks, who delighted the farmers with a greatly-improved scythe, or "engine to cut grass," as the court called it. Here were also made, as Mr. Lewis states, by the same in- genious Mr. Jenks, the dies for the famous pine tree coins of 1652. In 1654 the anthorities of Boston agreed with Mr. Jenks "for an Ingine to carry water in case of fire," which is said to be the first fire-en- gine in America. There must at one time have beer a good deal of business, for that period, carried on at

the works, as Winthrop, in a letter dated September 30, 1648, says, " The furnace runs eight tons per week, and their bar iron is as good as Spanish." The ore was obtained in the vicinity, and was of the kind called bog ore.

The site of the works was in a sheltered vale on the horder of the river, in what is now the centre village of Saugus; and a picturesque little hamlet called Hammersmith grew up apace. Henry Leonard and his brother James worked here, and their descend- ants have to this day been identified with the iron mannfacture, not only of New England, but the whole country. From the humble beginning of these Lynn works has developed the enormous iron trade of the present day. Skilled workmen went from here from time to time, and established themselves in different parts ; and their children and children's children, adepts in the same calling, borne on the waves of population as they spread over the land, are still easily identified as of the old Lynn stock.

As before intimated, these iron works were not a financial success. There was very little ready money in the colony ; and though the manufactured articles were sold at a very reasonable rate for coin, yet, as the General Court curtly told the company, an axe at twelve pence was not cheap to one who had no twelve pence to buy. And again, they had not been long in operation when they became involved in vexatious and expensive lawsuits. Hubbard says, "Instead of drawing out bars of iron for the country's nse, there were hammered out nothing but contentions and law- suits." They seem, to have gained the ill-will of many of their neighbors, had difficulties about flowage, about contracts for wood, and so on. And a most remarkable prejudice appears to have arisen from the apprehension that they would consume so much wood that fuel would become scarce. They, however, con- tinued in a sort of lingering consumption for many years, when the fires of the forges went out never to be relighted, the begrimed workmen departed never to return, and the chief tangible marks of their exist- ence now remaining are two or three grass-grown hil- locks of scoria, called by the people of the neighbor- hood the " cinder banks." Curious visitors sometimes dig through the thin soil that covers the slag and fre- quently find bits of charcoal as fresh as when ejected from the sooty portals, and occasionally a piece of iron casting.

In the description of New England by Samuel Maverick, recently discovered by Mr. Waters in the British archives, and probably written in 1660, ap- pears the following: "Five miles westward (from Marblehead, 'the greatest town for ffishing in New England') lyeth the Towne of Lynne along by the sea side, and two miles above it, within the bounds of it. are the greatest Iron works erected for the most part at the charge of some Merchants and Gentlemen here residing, and cost them about 14000£, who were, as it is conceived, about six years since Injuriously outted

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of them to the great prejudice of the Country and Owners." So it seems Mr. Maverick recognized their value; and he must have been familiar with their whole history, for he came over as carly as 1624, at the age of twenty-two, and settled on Noddle's Island, now East Boston, which the General Conrt granted to him in 1633-a fact which indicates an ap- preciation of his character and services, notwithstand- ing the deep prejudice that prevailed on account of his being a zealous Episcopalian.

It may be thought that the most proper place for a notice of these works would be in the sketch of Sau- gus, as they were actually within the present limits of that town; and no doubt the worthy gentleman who furnishes the sketch of that place will give them suitable attention. But there was no settlement of the name Saugus during their existence, nor for a hundred years after. They are always spoken of on the records as of Lynn. While it is of little moment on which side of the present line they were situated, it may be thought that their importance entitles them to some notice in both places. They were the first considerable mechanical industry established here. Craftsmen there were in sufficient numbers and variety to supply all local needs, and that was about all.

After the now historical iron works on Saugus River were abandoned there seems to have been no attempt at iron-working here for almost two centuries, unless blacksmithing be called snch. It was in 1843 that Theophilus N. Breed built a factory on Oak Street for the manufacture of shoemaker's tools and for various kinds of castings, erecting a dam and forming what has ever since been known as Breed's Pond, a description of which has already been given. After a few years, however, Mr. Breed relinquished the business, and the pond finally became the proper- ty of the city, and yet forms one of the chief sources of our public water supply, as well as a pleasing fea- ture of the landscape, surrounded as it is by romantic hills and woods.

PLANTING AND FISHING .- Planting and fishing were indeed the chief dependence for many years. And they insured a comfortable livelihood, so that the people hereabout were, in a sort, independent from the beginning. The land, however, was not very favorable for husbandry, though the sea yielded an abundance of valuable mannring matter ; and in later years, as the cost of labor increased, farming ceased to be profitable, till it has now been well-nigh aban- doned.

The fishing was at first confined to what is now known as dory-fishing, and was chiefly carried on from Swampscott. The little boats of the settlers, like the skiff's of the Indians, merely ventured into the offing. But there was no need of going farther, as the fish were abundant near the shore. It was not till 1795 that the first jigger, so called, a sail craft of some twenty tons, was procured. But from that time

the business increased, affording ample maintenance to many and fortunes to some. The fishermen here have promptly availed themselves of every new dis- covery and improvement in the prosecution of their calling and been alert in taking advantage of propi- tious tides.

Shell-fish have always been taken in great quanti- ties along the shore, and many an indigent family have found that the clam banks never refused a lib- eral discount.

The lobster trade, too, has been one of very consid- erable profit, though it has of late years been so vig- orously pursued that fears have arisen lest the dainty crustacea may be exterminated. As before remarked, the fishing was chiefly carried on at Swampscott, which was a part of Lynn till 1852. And, as the writer, when preparing the proposed sketch of that town, will necessarily have something to say about the fisheries, but little need be added here.

An idea of the extent of the lobster yield on our coast may be gathered from the fact that during the year ending May 1, 1865, there were taken at Nahant 150,000, and at Swampscott 37,000. The average val- ue, as taken from the traps, was six cents each. Since that time the annual catch has gradually diminished. And under the apprehension that the species may be- come extinct, as just stated, the Legislature has been invoked for their protection. But one would think there could not be much danger in that direction, as piscatory naturalists assure us that a single female lobster will lay 42,000 eggs in a year. It must be, then, that there are " denizens of the deep " as fond as we of the savory food.

The district of Lynn, Nahant and Swampscott re- turned, as the product of their fisheries for the quarter ending December 3, 1880, as follows : Codfish, cured, 300,000 pounds ; mackerel, 400,000 pounds ; herring, salted, 100,000 pounds ; lobsters, 7000 pounds; fresh fish, daily catch, 315,000 pounds ; fish oil, 3200 gal- lons. Total value, $44,141.50.

A brief quotation from William Wood's quaint de- scription of what he saw in 1631 may close what is needful just here about the fisheries: "Northward up this river [the Saugus] goes great store of alewives, of which they make good red herrings; insomuch that they have been at charges to make them a wayre and a herring-house to dry these herrings in. The last year were dried some 4 or 5 last [150 barrels] for an experiment, which proved very good. This is like to prove a great enrichment to the land, being a sta- ple commodity in other countries, for there be such innumerable companies in every river that I have seen ten thousand taken in two honrs, by two men, withont any weire at all saving a few stones to stop their passage up the river. There likewise come store of basse, which the English and Indians catch with hooke and line, some fifty or three score at a tide. . .. Here is a great deal of rock, cod and macrill, inso- much that shoales of basse have driven up shoales of

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macrill, from one end of the sandy beach to the other, which the inhabitants have gathered up in wheelbarrows." Alewives still go up the fresh-water streams for a few weeks in the spring to spawn in the pouds; especially do they swarm in Strawberry Brook on their way to Flax Pond ; but they are not now esteemned so highly for food as formerly. There are but few bass, some rock cod and occasionally great quantities of mackerel. The habits of the latter, however, are so peculiar that different seasons show very different accounts.

CLOTH MANUFACTURE .- In 1726 the Salem Court awarded to Nathaniel Potter, of Lynn, £13 15s. for the manufacture of three pieces of linen. It is not clear what kind of cloth this was, but is very likely to have been what was afterwards known as "tow cloth." Certain it is that flax was raised here in considerable quantities. The fine pond uear our northeastern border, known as Flax Pond, received its name, as mentioned in the description already given, from the circum- stance that much of the flax was rotted there. The tow cloth, as it came from the family hand-loom, was not regarded as a very genteel fabric, but its durabil- ity could not be questioned, and after being whitened it was fair, though not so smooth and soft as one of this day would desire for an innermost garment. The raising of flax and manufacture of tow cloth has long since been discontinued.

In the early times of the settlement sheep were raised to some extent, and of course the fleeces were by the thrifty dames wrought into comfortable cloth- ing. But the whir of the spinning-wheel and click of the hand-loom have long since ceased to be heard.

SHOES AND LEATHER .- Shoes .- The history of shoes and shoe-making seems always to have had a peculiar interest. Workers at the craft appeared at an early period of the world, for it was necessary to protect the feet from the arid sands of the torrid zone and the frosty plains of the frigid. The earliest cov- ering of the feet in the one case was no doubt the sandal, manufactured from some vegetable production, and in the other, the moccasin, made of uncurried skin. Sandals are still worn in the eastern countries, though light shoes scem generally preferred. The manufacture of shoes in those countries is conducted in the same primitive style that was in practice here in our early days, though the sewing-machine and other revolutionizing contrivances are being intro- duced. The writer, while threading his way through one of the narrow old streets of Algiers, two or three years since, came across a shop in which were half a dozen shoemakers busily at work on the same kind of low seat used in the Lynn shops of sixty years ago, knee-stirrup, lapstone and broad-face hammer, fulfilling their duties as of yore. So natural did the whole look that a pause was involuntarily made; but though the jolly workers seemed not averse to have a chat, the difficulties of language rendered the com- munication very limited. In the same city a French-

man was seen busily at work on an American sewing- machine.

Of all the industries of Lynn, the manufacture of shoes has taken the lead for many years; but it was not till the middle of the last century that she began to he known, to any marked extent, in that line of business. Nor is it certain that there was any special inducement for the establishment of the business here, though the manufacture of leather, which was engaged in to some extent in the earliest times, may have had something to do with it. Edward Johnson, of Wohuru, writing in 1651, speaks of a Shoemakers' Corporation in Lynn, and Mr. Lewis remarks that the papers relating to it were unfortunately lost, "having probably been destroyed by the mob in 1765." But it must have been an insignificant association. And what reason there was for supposing that the papers, if any really existed, were destroyed in the Stamp Act riot, is not known. It seems more probable that they would have been destroyed in the disorderly times of Andros; but more probable still that they never had any papers.

Edmund Bridges and Philip Kirtland are usually spoken of as the first shoemakers here. They came in 1635. But John Adam Dagyr, a Welshman, who came in 1750, seems to have raised the humble occupation almost to the rauk of a fine art. He took great pains to excel; and, it is said, imported the most elegant shoes from Europe, and dissected them for the purpose of discovering the hidden mystery of their elegance. This, however, appears to have been done before, but without the desired effect. Shoe- makers from all parts of the town, says Mr. Lewis, went to him for information; and he is called in the Boston Gazette of 1764 "the celebrated shoemaker of Essex." From this time Lynn took rank as the fore- most place for the manufacture of ladies' shoes in all New England-indeed, in all the provinces. But Mr. Dagyr, in a pecuniary way at least, never profited much by his skill and labor. The writer has been told by one who knew him well that he lived in a homely way, was not very neat in his dress and did not keep his little shop, which was on Boston Street, near where Carnes now opens, in the neatest order ; iu short, that he fell into such habits as were not conducive to a thrifty life. He finally became so destitute as to make his home in the almshouse, and there he died in 1808. Kirtland Street, in the west- erly part of the city, and Kirtland Block, in Union Street, perpetuate the name of the earlier craftsman, Philip Kirtland, and so, in its way, does the Kirtland Hotel, in Summer Street. But as yet no such honor has been bestowed on the name of Dagyr, unless a wild spot in the domain of the Free Public Forest Association, lately consecrated to his memory, be taken as such.

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 92

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