History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 99

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 99

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With a daughter of Mr. Tarbox the course of true love does not seem to have run with uninterrupted smoothness, for it is found that on the 11th of Sep- tember, 1649, Matthew Stanley was tried for winuing her affections without the consent of her parents, convicted and fined £5, with 28. 6d. fees, together with an allowance of 6s. to the parents of the young lady for their three days' attendance.

The son, Samuel, married Rebecca, a daughter of Joseph Armitage, landlord of the famous Anchor

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Tavern. He had eighteen children, and died Sep- tember 12, 1715, aged ninety-three years. He was one of the fifteen Lynn men impressed by order of court, November 13, 1674, for service in the King Philip War. A detachment had previously been sent on the same service. In 1685 he joined in " the hum- ble petition of several inhabitants of Lynn, who were sold, impressed and sent forth for the service of the country, that was with the Indians in the long march in the Nipmugg country, and the fight at the fort Narragansett," which petition was signed by twenty-five inhabitants of the town.

It can hardly be said that the Tarbox family be- came very conspicuous beyond our own borders, though of late years some shining lights of the name, and presumably of the lineage, have here and there appeared. Nor has the family with us been con- spicuous for numbers, notwithstanding the good ex- ample set by Samuel, who, as just stated, was the happy father of eighteen children. Still, there always have been and yet are a fair number with us. The name of Mr. George O. Tarbox, before mentioned, has been favorably greeted throughout the land for his late effective manifesto touching the "boycott " ordered upon him by the Knights of Labor.

But this class of personal notices cannot be ex- tended here. And the reader may, if he please, con- sider the foregoing merely as examples that might be greatly multiplied.

And now, with notices of a few eccentric, or rather, perhaps. we should say, abnormal, characters, of which class Lynn has always had an abundant assort- ment, this division of our sketch will close. Some of those referred to have made an enduring mark and done much to spread abroad the name of the place, but to what advantage or disadvantage there will be different estimates. There is, however, a sort of worldly benefit in being talked about, even if what is said is not quite so favorable. The term " eccentric " is not intended to be applied in an offensive sense, and it is feared that some reader may not see the strict applicability of its use in every instance. In the first notice, especially, it may be deemed hardly appropriate, as matrimonial misunderstandings are in these days so common as to seem "natural " rather than " eccentric." The notices are not given merely to amuse, but for use by way of example or warning, as the case may be.

MONTOWAMPATE, alias SAGAMORE JAMES .- It is fitting to begin with a sketch of the Indian Sagamore James, who ruled over a considerable part of the sea- board line of Essex County at the time of the arrival of the whites, though he was then quite a young man, having been born in 1609. His Indian name was Montowampate, but the settlers called him Sagamore James. He was a son of Nanapashemet, whose juris- diction extended over a large part of the territory be- tween the Charles and Piscataqua Rivers. On the death of Nanapashemet his " kingdom " was divided,

the portion including Lynn falling to Montowampate, his second »on.

The young Sagamore fixed his residence on the delightful elevation still known as Sagamore Hill, lying between Beach and Nahant Streets, and over- looking the beach, Nahant and a considerable portion of the bay. It is now (1887) a thickly-settled part of the city, though still retaining some of its picturesque features. Its proximity to the sea was, perhaps, the chief reason why this place was chosen for the "royal residence," though the lovely natural surroundings may have added their attractions. Not much is known of Montowampate, nor indeed individually of any of the Indians found hereabout, though from the narra- tives of the old writers glimpses of character some- times occur. Dudley says Montowampate was "of a far worse disposition " than his brother Wonohaqua- ham, or Sagamore John, as the English called him, who, he says, was " a handsome young man" . . " affecting Engli-h apparel and houses and speaking well of our God."

.The Lynn Sagamore seems to have had a high ap- preciation of his own dignity, and not a very lively sen-e of the courtesies due to the gentler sex. This is shown by a matrimonial imbroglio, which Thomas Morton thus recounts in his book entitled " The New English Canaan," published in 1632:

"The Sachem or Sagamore of Sagus, made choice, when he came to man's estate, of a lady of noble descent, daughter of Papasiquinso, the Sachem or Sagamore of the territories near Merrimack river; a man of the best note in all those parts, and, as my countryman, Mr. Wood, declares, in his ' Prospect,' a great nigromancer. This lady the young sachem, with the consent and good liking of her father, marries, and takes for his wife. Great entertainment hee and his received in those parts at her father's hands, wheare they were feasted in the best manuer that might be expected, according to the custome of their nation, with reveling, and such other solemnities as is usual amongst them. The solomnity being ended, Papasiquineo caused a selected number of his men to waite on his daughter home into those parts that did properly belong to her lord and hushand, where the attendants had entertain- ment by the sachem of Sagus and his countrymen. The solemnity be- ing ended, the attendants were gratified.

"Not long after, the new married lady had a great desire to see her father and her native country, from whence she came. Her lord was willing to pleasure her, and not deny her request, amongst them thought to be reasonable, commanded a select number of his own man to conduct his lady to her father , where with great respect they brought her; and having feasted there a while, returned to their own country againe, leaving the lady to continue thers at her owne pleasure amongst her friends and old acquaintances, where she passed away the time for a while, and in the end desired to returne to her lord againe. Her father, the old Papasiquineo, having notice of her intent, sent some of. his men on ambassage to the young sachem, his sonne-in-law, to let him understand that his daughter was not willing to absent herself from his company auy longer ; and therefore, as the messengers had in charge, desired the young lord to send a convoy for her ; but he, standing upon tearmes of honor, and the maintaining of his reputation, returned to his father-in-law this answer : 'That when she departed from him, bee caused his men to waite upon her to her father'e territories as it did be- come him ; but now she had an intent to returne, it did become her father to send her back with a convoy of his own people : and that it stood not with his reputation to make himself or his mien so servile as to fetch her againe.'

"The old sachem Papasiquineo, having this message returned, was inraged to think that his young son-in-law did not esteem him at a higher rate than to capitulate with him about the matter, and returned him this sharp reply : 'That his daughter's blood and birth deserved

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more respect than to he slighted, and therefore, if he would have ber company, he were best to send or come for her.'

" The young sachem, not willing to undervalue himself, and being a man of a stont spirit, did not stick to say, 'That he should either send her by hils own convoy or keepe her; for he was determined not to ntoope so lowe.'

" So much these two anchems stood upon tearmes of reputation with each other, the one would not send for her, lest it should be any dimin- ishing of honor on his part that should seeme to comply, that the lady, when I came out of the country, remained still with her father ; which in a thing worth the noting, that salvage people should seek to maintain their reputation so much as they doe."

She was, however, finally restored to his arms, but how the reconciliation was effected does not appear. She soon after became a widow, as the death of Montowampate took place in 1633. Her marital life certainly had its troubles, for besides what has been spoken of, she was taken captive by the Tarratines and held a prisoner for two months. After the death of her husband she returned to her father.

The resolute Montowampate is said to have visited England in 1631, with a letter of introduction from Governor Winthrop to Emanuel Downing, the emi- nent London lawyer, and while there to have received the honors of an Indian king. His errand was to procure redress for a fraud committed by an English- man named Watts in a beaver-skin transaction.

On the 4th of September, 1632, the court ordered that "Richard Hopkins shalbe severely whipt & branded with a hott iron on one of his cheekes for selling peeces & powder & shott to the Indians. Hereupon it was propounded if this offence should not be punished hereafter by death." One of the pur- chasers of the proscribed articles, it appears by Mr. Lewis, was the mettlesome Montowampate.

But this youthful Sagamore of Lynn soon ended his career. Winthrop, in his journal under date De- cember 5, 1633, says,-"John Sagamore [elder brother of Montowampate] died of the small pox, and almost all of his people." .. . . "James Sagamore [Montowompate], of Sagus, died also and most of his folks."

MARY PITCHER .- The stranger on arriving in Lynn, and leaving the railroad train at the Central Square Station, may observe towering up, a furlong or so off, in a northeasterly direction, a huge porphyry cliff, which he may be told is "High Roek." It is not now, however, so readily discerned from the Square as it was a few years since, for large business buildings, recently erected, interveue. Seventy-five years ago there was but little population in the vicinity, and the whole of " Rocks Pasture," near the southern border of which rises High Rock, was lonely and wild enough, with its rocky outcroppings and stunted growth of red cedar. The highway, indeed, wound along the southerly bound, but it was rough and little traveled. In pleasant weather, however, charming views could be obtained of diversificd land- scape and the ever-changing sea.

Upon the southern declivity, and fronting towards the sea, was a plain little cottage, seated a short dis-

tance in from the road, with a small, unkempt garden in front, and broken rocks, thistles and nettles in the rear. And that lonely cottage was the home of " Moll Pitcher," the celebrated fortune-teller of Lynn, for many years. It was here that she enter- tained the numerous visitors of all classes and from all places, who anxiously sought her aid to unveil the mysteries of the life before them, never doubting that-

"She could tell by tea-ground mark, Fortune bright or fortune dark ; And could give, O wondrous dame, Loving swain'e or maiden's name, Showing by her mystic art Whether true or false of heart ; And, by turning cards, could show Life'e whole epan, its weul or wo."

This remarkable woman was born in 1738, of rep- utable parents, in Marblehead. Her father was a master mariner, and connected with some of the best families in Essex County. And her own reputation seems to have remained unsullied, unless her occult pretensions are to he taken as a stain. Her maiden- name was Mary Diamond, and Mr. Lewis says of her,-

"She was of the medium height and size for a woman, with a good form and agreeable manners. Her hend, phrenologically considered, was comewhut capacious, her forehead broad and full, her hair dark brown, her nose inclining to long, and her face pale and thin. There was nothing gross or sensual in her appearance; her countenance was ruther intellectual; and she had that contour of fuce and expression which, without being positively beautiful, is, nevertheless, decidedly in- teresting; a thoughtful, pensive and sometimes downcast look, almost approaching to melancholy ; an eye, when it looked at you, of calm and keen penetration ; and an expression of intelligent discernment, half mingled with a glance of shrewdness. She took a poor man for a hns- band, and then adopted, what she doubtless thought, the hurmless em ployment of fortune-telling, in order to support her children. In this she was prubably more successful than she herself had anticipated ; and she became celebrated, not only throughout America, but thruughont the world, for her skill. There was no port on either continent, where floated the flag of an American chip, that had not heard the fame of Moll Pitcher. . .. Many persons came from places far remote to consult her co affairs of love or loss of property, or to obtain her eur- mises respecting the vicissitudes of their future fortune. Every youth who was not assured of the reciprocal affection of his fair one, and every maid who was desirous of anticipating the hour of her highest felicity, repaired at evening to her humble dwelling. . . . That che made uo pretension tu anything supernatural is evident from her own admission, when some une offered her a large sum if she would tell him what ticket in the lottery would draw the highest prize. 'Do you think,' enid she, 'if I knew, I would not buy it myself ?' Severul of the best authenti- cated anecdotes which are related of her seem to imply that she pos- sessed, in some degree, the faculty which is now termed clairvoyance. Indeed, there seems to be no other conclusion, unless we supposo that persons of general veracity have told us absolute falsehoods. The pos- session of this faculty, with her keen perception and shrewd judgment, in connection with tho ordinary art which she admitted to havo used, to detect the character and business of her visitors, will perhaps accunot for all that is extraordinary in her intelligence. In eo muny thousand Instances also, of the exercise of her faculty, there is certainly no need of calling in supernatural aid to account for her sometimes judging right ; and these favorable instances were certain to be related to her advantage, and ineured her abundance of credibility."

It is stated that the celebrated "Lord Timothy Dexter," of Newburyport, was accustomed to visit her, and place implicit confidence in her utterances. But whether his strange commercial speculations, which appear to have been uniformly successful, were

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attributable to her promptings, cannot be known. She was married on the 2d of October, 1760, to Robert Pitcher, a shoemaker, and became the mother of oneson and three daughters. And there, in the lonely home, already described, she died on the 9th of April, 1813, aged seventy-five years. Her remains were interred in the old burying-ground, near the western end of the common. The memory of such a person is not likely to be much honored by those of her own gen- eration, and her resting-place has remained unheeded and almost unknown till the present time (1887)- nearly three-quarters of a century -- when two worthy citizens-Isaac O. Guild and John T. Moulton-have erected a neat head-stone to mark the spot, which was some years since pointed out by an aged man who was present at the burial. And to that spot, in future years, many a sentimental maiden and swain will doubtless repair-a class who always had her warm- est sympathies.

Mrs. Pitcher was connected with the Silsbee family of Lynn in this way: Lydia, a great-granddaughter of Henry Silsbee, the first of the name in Lynn, in 1735, married Aholiab Diamond, a son of Captain John Diamond, of Marblehead, and had two sons, Samuel and Richard, and one daughter, Mary. This daughter Mary was married, October 2, 1760, to Robert Pitcher, of Lynn, as beforestated, thus becoming " Moll Pit- cher." Descendants of hers still remain among us. Henry Silsbee, the old settler just named, probably located on Fayette Street not far from the corner of Essex, in which vicinity he owned considerable land. He was designated as a "shoemaker," though pro- bably quite as much of a farmer. The family has always been respectable, but not numerous, and several eminent individuals have appeared in the line, Hon. Nathaniel Silsbee, United States Senator, among them. Silsbee Street perpetuates the name.

GEORGE GRAY .- Near the close of the last century there suddenly appeared in Lynn a man seemingly of an age somewhere between thirty and forty years. He was physically well-conditioned, but in disposi- tion unaccountably reserved. It was soon known that he had come to make this his permanent home, for he made himself possessor of a limited tract of wild land in a lonely and dismal neighborhood, and there erected a rude habitation which, for forty years, con- tinued to be his hermitage, for there he lived "soli- tary and alone " during that long period.

This man was George Gray, the Lynn hermit. And the hermitage was on Boston Street, nearly opposite the entrance to Pine Grove Cemetery. He was by birth a Scotchman, and died on the 28th of Febru- ary, 1848, at the age of seventy-eight years. Till pop- ulation began to increase around him, which it did, much to his annoyance, his home was secluded enough for the most determined misanthrope. A high, woody hill rose in the rear ; a tangled swamp on either hand, with a weedy brook winding through ; while in front, beyond a little area of brambles and rank vege-

tation, wound the street just named. He persistently, and often with a good deal of asperity, refused to communicate to the many curious inquirers any knowledge of his personal history or the causes which induced the adoption of his comfortless and unnatural mode of life. And that very secrecy gave rise to numberless romantic surmises. Some believed that an unfortunate affair of the heart estranged him from social intercourse; others hinted that some great crime rendered his flight and concealment necessary. But he had the shrewdness to avoid entangling him- self by contradicting or admitting the truth of any report.

One of the latest circumstantial surmises related to his connection with the fate of the French Dauphin, Charles Louis, son of Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette. It gained currency by an article in Putnam's Magazine, a monthly periodical of high standing; the theory being that the Dauphin was taken from the custody of Simon, the inhuman ruf- fian in whose keeping he had been placed, brought to the wilds of America and given in charge of a woman of the St. Regis tribe, who reared him with affection, though never claiming that he was her own child, and probably never dreaming that he was not some poor, friendless waif. It was further suggested that Rev. Eleazer Williams, a missionary of the Episcopal Church, laboring with the St. Regis Indians, was the identical Dauphin. Then gained currency the belief that Mr. Gray was one of those who brought the Dau- phin to America, it being declared that he was cer- tainly in France, a red republican, at that period. It is not certain, exactly, what threads were supposed to be found connecting Gray with the transaction, unless it was that Mr. Williams-who no doubt really be- lieved himself to be the Dauphin-came to Lynn, and, finding that Gray was dead, became very anx- ious to procure a specimen of his hand-writing, for which purpose he called on the writer. But these surmises and rumors need not longer occupy our at- tention.

At times the hermit was by no means averse to dis- cussing affairs with his neighbors, though very seldom could one receive a welcometo his premises, and never would an invitation to enter his dwelling be extended. His calls were generally made at night. The writer was occasionally favored with one, and usually found him so forgetful of the passing time that it was neces- sary to remind him of the lateness of the hour by a hint like that of extinguishing the lights, nothing short of some such rudeness being effectual. He was a reflecting man, and of considerable literary and scientific attainment; but the current story of his carrying a Hebrew Bible about in his pocket was, no doubt, a fiction. He took great pleasure in attending lectures, and in studying works on the abstruse sciences. But his fondness for the mechanic arts was, perhaps, his most marked trait; and he became very skillful in some branches connected with machinery.

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Strangers would sometimes vex him with untimely visits, and by unpalatable remarks induce sudden ex- hihitions of temper; but if one assumed to be an adept in any branch of mechanics, he was pretty sure of a courteous liearing. He claimed several useful in- ventions, and spent considerable money in establish- ing his claims against those who infringed his patents.

In religion he was probably a materialist most of life. Perhaps a dozen years before his death he re- marked that it was "ridiculous for any one to con- tend that intelligence was not the result of physical or- ganization." But it was understood that he subsequent- ly abandoned his old views, and died in the Calvinistic faith. He was eccentric in his habits, and had little regard for personal appearance, oftentimes-especially during the last few years of his life-appearing in a grim and filthy condition. He was remarkable, even in old age, for power of physical endurance. Many a time has he walked to Boston, on a winter evening, attended a lecture, and walked home after it had closed, making a distance, in all, of full twenty miles, most likely with no thicker covering to his head than a dilapidated straw hat, and upon his feet coarse shoes and no stockings. He suffered much from dis- case during his last few years. And there, in his forlorn habitation, without the sympathy of friends or the common endearments of home, in solitude and distress, his last days were passed.

Mr. Gray, at the time of his decease, possessed property to theamount of about four thousand dollars. He died intestate, and his debts were not large ; a con- siderable portion, therefore, went into the treasury of the commonwealth. His savings do not appear, how- ever, to have accumulated from a miserly disposition, but rather from habits of industry and a naturally frugal turn, for the administrator remarked that from the appearance of things he could hardly have taken sufficient interest in his pecuniary affairs to have known what he did possess. In some instances the evidences of his money deposits were found thrown among waste paper.

The death of the hermit was noticed in the news- papers throughout the country, and several persons appeared, claiming to be heirs; but they failed to substantiate their claims.

HIRAM MARBLE .- This somewhat singular indi- vidual appeared in Lynn in 1852, being then of the age of forty-seven. He brought with him his wife, a son of the age of twenty, and a young daughter. He immediately petitioned the city to sell him the famous Dungeon Rock, a greenstone cliff a mile or two back in the woods, and very difficult of access, on account of steep and tangled ascents, swamps and quagmires. He succeeded in purchasing, at a low price, the rock and about five acres of the surround- ing woodland. In that lonely place he erected a rude habitation, and soon set to work building a road down towards the town. This was a severe piece of labor,

for gnarled old trees, huge boulders and ledge-crop- pings were to be removed. But he persevered heroically till a passable way was obtained. How a man, evidently not very strong or in vigorous health, could undertake such a piece of work was astonish- ing. But the crowbar, pick and shovel were courag- eously wielded, aud resounding blasts awoke the echoes during the hot days of summer, he feigning to regard it as light labor, saying that he had been seized by a weakening complaint, and found himself unable to pursue the hard work he had commenced on the rock, and so had changed to the light work of road-building.

The hard work commenced on the rock was to ex- cavate, in search of treasure, gold and jewels, imagincd to have been deposited somewhere down in its un- known depths. He had come, as he alleged, by spir- itual direction, and had full faith in the assurance of the spirits, that they would watch his progress, give directions and lead him to final success. By no means deficient in intelligence, he yet was a credulous enthusiast. In person he was of medium height, had a bright, quick eye, and wore a flowing beard of sandy hue, which did not always bear evidence of having recently had the discipline of a comb. He was communicative, and in his conversation ran a pleasant vein of jocularity ; was usually ready to con- verse on his plans, fears and hopes ; and with great good nature, sometimes with an apparently keen relish, alluded to the jeers and taunts of those who were disposed to rank him as a lunatic. The writer had occasional conversations with him, and was sometimes struck by the freedom with which he dis- cussed the pros and cons of spiritualism ; neverthe- less, his faith and perseverance were refreshing. He asserted that he had been a confirmed infidel, a be- liever in nothing beyond the visible and temporal, till he received communications that could have come from none but intelligent, invisible beings, uure- strained by any physical obstacle.

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 99

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