History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 108

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1672

USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II > Part 108

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FRANCIS JOHNSON, the third son of Joseph John- son, inherited the sterling qualities of his father. He succeeded his father in the care of the schools, and was instrumental in establishing the first Sunday- school library at Nahant.

At an early age he engaged in the fishing business. He made his first voyages in the "Jefferson," in mid- winter, and now relates the hardships he then ex- perienced in one of these midwinter voyages as one of the hardest ever experienced by him, although he had commanded, at different times, more of the fleet of

vessels at Nahant than any of his predecessors. lie was married, October 30, 1827, to Miss Fally Rice, a daughter of Mr. Jesse Rice.

In 1828 and 1829 he commanded the steamboat "Housatonic," and the excursion steamer " Byron " in I830.

In 1836 he returned to Nahant, where lie engaged in the fishing business until 1842, in which year he established the since large and prosperous lobster business, known throughout the country as Johnson & Young, which he successfully conducted for upward of forty years.

CORNELIUS COOLIDGE .- In 1824 Cornelius Cool- idge, an enterprising Boston merchant and contractor, purchased of Breed and the Hoods nearly all the land to the eastward of Rice's Hotel. This was laid out in new streets and sixty-two building-lots. Ou these lots Mr. Coolidge subsequently built the following cottages : the Bryant cottage, Dr. Robbins', David Sears' (now the Appleton cottage), Hubbard's (now the Charles R. Green cottage), B. C. Clark's (now the house occupied by the family of the late Amos A. Lawrence), N. P. Russell's, and also the Nahant House (now the Peabody cottage). The Villa, the last house built by Mr. Coolidge, is now the residence of Mrs. John E. Lodge. But owing to financial em- barrassments Mr. Coolidge was obliged to sell his lands and houses and give up all his plans. This was unfortunate for Nahant, as he had contemplated other great improvements. Among other things he built the stone-work of the old wharf, and gave, as his contribution to the Nahant Church, the laud on which it now stands.

In the year 1825 Nahant had seventy-five perma- nent residents ; and by the following statement it will be seen that during the half-century from 1775 to 1825 only two deaths occurred, with the exception of deaths from old age, or diseases incideut to old age: Jonathan Johnson, old age, aged seventy-four years; Nehemiah Breed, palsy, seventy-three years ; Abby Breed, inflammation of the brain, seventeen years ; Abner Hood, old age, eighty-five years ; Mary Johnson, consumption, thirty-one years.

THE SEA-SERPENT .- Nahant seems to have been unusually fortunate during the year of 1823, in the attractions she had to offer, as a now established watering-place, to the families of Boston and vicinity ; for in addition to all that was offered by the new hotel, nature herself seemed to have been so kindly disposed as to furnish, besides, a new and rare spectacle,-that of the fabled sea- serpent. In the Patriot of July 16, 1823, ap- pears the following account of the monster as seen by one of our oldest inhabitants, Captain Francis Johnson :

" I, Francis Johnson, Jr., testify that in going into the harbor from Nahant, July 12, 1823, at about nine o'clock A.M., I saw 'standing ' into Lynn harbor, something in the water resembling a row of porpoises. I then supposed it to be such, and forbore to notice it.

" About two hours afterwards I heard a noise in the water, and saw,

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about four rode distant, & mething resembling the head of a fish or ser- Trent elevated about two feet above the surface, followed by seven or egget bunches, the first over six feet from the head, all these bunches I ig about six feet apart and raised about n'y inches above the w ter.

" It stood castward at the rate of five miles an hour, with an undn- lating motion hke that of a caterpillar. Its color was dark, hke that of a shark or porpoise.

" I pursued it about a mile being in a small fishing-boat, and had a fur view of it for about thirty minutes, the water being smooth and the sky clear, und then I lost sight of it, supposing it to dive beneath the surface, I la heve it to be what I took for a row of porpoises two hours before.

" I am about twenty years of age ; was horn and have always lived at Nahant ; have been constantly employed in fishing ; have seen every mperjes of fish accustomed to visit our coast, but never saw anything re- Brinbling this.

" I have heretofore constantly doubted the existence of a sea-serpent, but now firmly believe what I saw to by the animal hitherto described

" FRANCIS JOHNSON, JR.

" Nahant, Joly 12, 1823.

" W'e hereby certify that the above statement was given in our pres- ence, and from our knowledge of the character of Mr. Johnson, we have no doubt of his veracity.

" H. A. S. DEARBORN. ". NATH. AMORY. " SIDNEY BARTLETT. ** THOMAS WHITMORE. " RICHARD D. HARRIS. " RUSSELL. JARVIS.

" I certify that Francis Johnson, Jr., made the same report to me previous to his landing ut Nabant, July 12, 1823.

" J. S. DoER."

Many other accounts of those who have described the sea-serpent, as scen by them, could be given. It is still often reported that the sea-serpent has been seen off Nahant, and other places along the coast. But there are many who are very incredulous about the existence of such a sea monster.

Some of our old fishermen have looked in vain for his appearance. One who was present on Long Beach when his snakeship was reported to have been seen, declared it was three horse mackerel sharks following in the wake of each other with their heads and back fins appearing above the water. As these lines of mackerel sharks are frequently seen on a calm day, they may have been mistaken for the sea- serpent. Whichever it may be, the mysterious and fabled sea-serpent or only a row of horse mackerel, let those who see, judge.

MR. FREDERIC TUDOR .- MIrs. Delia Tudor, in or before 1520, was a frequent visitor and resident at Vahant. She built the stone house in the eighth range which, in 1824, was purchased by her son 1. rederie Tudor, who made this for many years his singer residence, purchasing adjoining lands, bu ding a stable and additions to the house, and in many other ways improving the estate. In the early dny4, he and his Crother frequently traveled on foot from Boston to Nahant. Mr. Tudor's first effort towares public improvement was in the planting of two rows of Palorel Gilead trees, on each side of the maio road, from the bull near Short Beach to Summer Street Prior to this, Wiliam Wood and Thomas II. Perkins had planted a row of elms from Summer

Street to the Breed House. Mr. Tudor did not allow this much-needed improvement to suffer any neglect, and from the earliest planting of trees, through his many years of residence here, he caused this work to be continued every spring and autumn. Nearly all the beautiful elms, maples and other varieties of shade-trees that now grow along our streets were planted by him. He once remarked that every tree he planted was as much of a benefit to the citizens of any State, Georgia for instance, as to the citizens of Nahant, since, in time, both would enjoy them joint- ly,-thus anticipating for Nahant a more prosperous future than any one has as yet realized.

He inclosed his own lands with heavy stone fences, ploughed and cultivated these inclosed fields, planted corn and other grains, and built new streets. The following letter, published in 1849, describes Mr. Tudor's garden :

" Among the many beautiful fratures of Nahant, one of the most beautiful is the residence of Mr. Tudor. We called to see his place on the occasion of a recent ride to our famed and favorite Nahant, and were politely received by our friend, Mr. Wm. F. Johnson, to whom we ex- press our thanks for his attention.

" The cottage and garden of Mr. Tudor are well worth a visit, and certainly deserve a mention to the public.

" The cottage is built of stone which was collected at Nahant, of a coarse or dark granite which is quite abundant there ; the roof is cov- ered with hemlock bark, giving the building an ancient appearance, which seems to be a taste the proprietor studies.

" Mr. Tudor'a garden contains ever two acres, and is inclosed by a very substantial fence, about seventeen feet high, which not only pro- treis it from intruders, but prevents in a great measure the effect of the violent wind. He has a large collection of very fine fruit-trees, many of them beautifully trained on fences, giving them a very tasteful and ornamental appearance. One cherry-tree, with its branches trained horizontally, covers a space of over five hundred square feet ; some of its branches are about twenty feet in length, extending each side of the trunk perfectly straight. The pear-trees look exceedingly well, con- sidering that it is an unfavorable season for the pear crop in this vicinity, owing to the late frost in the spring.

"Ilis plums are worthy of notice, all looking finely, and, notwith- standing the depredations of the curculio, many of these trees are loaded with the finest plums.

" There are many interesting experiments in shading trees from the aun in the hottest part of the day, which have proven quite successful. All his experiments are tried in the most thorough manner. Among the many experiments is one quite novel of capturing insects ; he has suspended in his trees between twoand three hundred small bottles, partly filled with sweetened water, into which all flys, bugs and moths are in- ticed and are drowned.

" Great quantities have been destroyed in this way. During twe weeks of the dry weather in June there were captured about five hun- dred thousand bugs, and in thirty-six hours on the nineteenth and twentieth of June, one hundred and eight thousand were taken,-thus, besides destroying the effect of the insects, preventing an immense en- crease hy propagation.

"Although his principal interest is in trees, yet he luis n portion of his grounds dedicated to Flora, and a beautiful marble figure of the galdess is in the centre of this department.

" When we take into consideration the fact that one-half of the com- munity think that nothing can be grown successfully at Nahant, and twelve years ago not one in a hundred could be found that believed it, no one will deny that Mr. Tudor is entitled to a great deal of credit for his persevering efforts, for by them he has established the fact that the barren soil of Nabant will yield to the industry of man as well as other places. And quite an interest has been aronsed in many of the inhabitants of Nahant, which it may not be improper to attribute to the example of Mr. Tudor.

". Besides the gardens, Mr. Inder hus quite a farm, raising large quan- tities of beets and entrots. Ile has harvested the pust season about fifty

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toos of hay ; although he has never yet devoted his attention person- ally to that branch, yet there is no reason why he cannot have one of the finest farms in the country. In addition to gratifying his own private taste, Mr. Tudor has not neglected the public, as any one who resides on Nahant cannot fail to observe.

" The many fine trees on each side of the road are living witnesses of the fact, and the many hundreds of trees scattered about on the hills. It must have required an unusual degree of care and expense to have brought them to their present thriving cooditioo.

"In short, the entire appearance of the peninsula has been changed, and the beautiful coutrest between the green trees and the wild ocean make the spot doubly interesting to the lover of nature or the seeker of pleasure, for all of which the future generations cannot fail to be uomiindfnl, and to remember him with gratitude."

Mr. Tudor also contributed to and helped to build the Nahant church, besides giving liberally to the village church, and he was one of the first to offer a bounty for the encouragement of volunteers in the war of the Rebellion. The establishment of the Maolis Gardens, and the building of the hotel adjoining, with the swings and "shades," and the substantial sea wall and the road along the north shore, are all his works. What- ever he undertook to build, he built in the most sub- stantial manner. That constructed with wood has now almost gone; the fences that surrounded the fine gardens are also disappearing, and all that seems to remain are tbe lofty elm trees and granite sea walls besides his stone cottage.

In the Boston Journal of October 5, 1858, is the fol- lowing interesting account of cider-making on the premises of Mr. Tudor :

" CIDER ANU PERAY-MAKING AT NAHANT.

" The first event of the above nature in our peninsular history occur- red last week upon the premises of Frederic Tudor, E-q. By invitation, kindly extended to all the inhabitants, a large party met on the after- Doon of Saturday, the 2d of October inst. Cider, perry (made from the juice of the pear) and merry-making conviviality aod good feeling generally were the order of the day. Ilere were gathered in abundance the rich fruits of the earth. The first cider-mill ever seen at Nahant was pnt io operativo, and the first cider was received from the hand of Mr. Tudor by the oldest inhabitant (Uncle Caleb), and drank with an appropriate toast.

" Tbe delicious beverage ran freely from the press, and was as freely dealt ont to the multitude, who, by smiling faces and pleasant remarks; evinced their appreciation of its merits. Then followed the manufac- ture of perry, which was universally pronounced ' most excellent.' In addition to two barrels of cider distributed at the gathering, and near a barrel of perry, six or seven other barrels of cider are yet to be made, and large quantities of fall and winter apples and pears are yet to be gathered.

" Some interesting and appropriato remarks were made upon the occasion by Mr. Hammond, who addressed the party in response to a call. Allusion was made to preseut condition of Nahant in regard to frnit, &c., as compared to a few years since, when, under the auspices of Mr. Tudor, fruit and ornamental trees were introduced and their culture encouraged and promoted. Then ' Nahant was comparatively barren, uosheltered from the driving storms of winter and the herce rays of the sumoier snn; now, the finest varieties of fruits are comparatively abundant, and shaded walks and groves greatly enhance its native attractions.

"Some ode present produced the Atlantic Monthly for Angust, from which Mr. Hammond read a portion of an article in which the writer makes disparaging mention of Mr. Tndor's ugly fences and scrubby pear- trees. Suffice it to say that the statement, when brought in contrast with the facts in the case, exhibited altogether a sorry contrast. No expression of indignation followed, but twice three deafening cheers for Mr. Tndor gave evidence of the prevailing feeling.

"Retiring from the scene of cider-making, the party, each provided (even to the ladies) with a bottle of pure jnice of the apple or peur, were conducted by Mr. Tudor to his large garden orchard on the south

side of the peninsula. Here in every directivo upon the lip of mother earth and hanging from the trees were the finest of fruits in the great - est abundance. Free to all, " As God gave to me, so give I to you," wus the generous sentiment of the host. Here, iu eloquent volumes, did those pear trees pronounce the scrubby epitbet a misnomer.

" Wishing to Mr. Tudor length of days in which to enjoy the fruits of his labors, the merry and happy party repaired to their homes, long and gratefully to remember the pleasant and interesting occasion.

"We will state in this connection, Mr. Editor. that there bes been gathered on Nahant the present season, by Charles Amory, Esq., twenty barrels of apples ; by Chleb Johnson, eight or ten barrels; W. W. Johnson, four barrels ; J. W. Page, Esq., from many trees, quantity unknown; Francis Johnsoo, five or six barrels ; Walter Johnson, eight or ten barrels ; W. R. Johnson, five or six barrels, aud a goodly quan- tity of fine pears ; Albert Whitney maoy barrels, say eight or ten by estimate ; A. Colby expected to gather several larrels ; Jonathan John- son, five or six harrels; Joseph Johnson, about three barrels.

"There has also been gathered a quantity of butternuts and English walnuts. This is pretty fair, considering that the trees are of but a few years' growth."

After the death of Mr. Tudor, his wife, Mrs. Fenno Tudor, with the same spirit, continned the improve- ments Mr. Tudor had begun. She purchased the old landing-place, Nipper Stage, and land adjoining, on which she built the new wharf, the present steamboat landing.

1 In the earliest years of this century a young man just entering mercantile life, looking around him with a beginner's enthusiasm for unthought- of and cheap commodities to carry to new and dear markets, hit upon the icc which in limitless fields clothed his native lakes in winter. Even at that time, well-to-do people housed a little ice for summer's use, and to him occurred the possibility of transporting this great absorbent of heat and producer of cold to tropical latitude-, where its value would be greatest.

The substance was easily obtained, and to cut it into blocks convenient for handling cost very little. An uncertain but probably large part would be lost by melting; would there be a residue after storage, transportation and handling which could be sold at such a price that all expenses would be covered and a profit left over? The young man who considered this project was Frederic Tudor, the third son of Colonel William Tudor, a Revolutionary officer and friend of General Washington, and a lawyer of emi- nence. Born in Boston, September 4, 1783, he was scarcely twenty-one years old when he began to pon- der the scheme of a trade in iee, and be had so well satisfied himself of its feasibility that in 1805 a cargo of ice cut from a pond on his father's country place in Saugus was actually loaded on board a schooner, and in charge of himself as owner and supercargo, was shipped to the island of Martinique.

The project, of which this was but an attempt, a bare opening of what he calculated would grow to be a great trade with the Indies, was laughed at by all his neighbors as a crazy undertaking.

He confessed that one reason for sailing along with his novel merchandise was to escape the jeers of his

1 Written by bis son, Frederic Tudor.

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acquaintances and the well-meant restraint of his friends, but as such things have no weight with the man who is possessed by an idea and seriously in earnest in its development, his chief reason was un- doubtedly to watch the effectiveness of his precau- tions to preserve the ice, and to introduce the new product to its first market in the tropics in person.

So nnaccustomed were the residents of the island to the properties of ice, and so unprepared to receive and use it, notwithstanding the efforts of his advance agents, that no real advantage was obtained from it; but the whole cargo arrived with trilling shrinkage, and the success of this most important part of the experiment was satisfactorily demonstrated.

Another motive which induced young Tudor to take passage on the schooner was to give confidence to the sailors, who hesitated to embark on a vessel filled with what was likely to shortly turn into water, possibly with suddenness, and, if not siuk her, cer. tainly make her water-logged and unmanageable. In later years experience proved ice to be one of the best cargoes. Becoming welded into a solid mass, it gave stiffness and strength to the hull inclosing it ; it could not shift ; a vessel loaded with it could not sink ; perishable products shipped with it were pre- served, and but a small part was lost by melting, if suitable precautions were taken, even during a voy- age lasting for months.

The venture at Martinique, although nearly swamping his small capital, for he found it difficult to dispose of his merchandise, was, after all, of a na. ture to encourage him in new attempts, not only here, but in all the larger islands of the West Indies. From this time for many years his enthusiastic na- ture carried him forward, in spite of disasters, losses, accumulating debts and innumerable discourage- ments. He managed, in spite of his lack of money, even with a heavy load of debt which favoring for- tune never lightened without soon involving him deeper by unexpected and improbable disasters, to steadily extend his business. While under heavy expenses from efforts to introduce the trade into new and untried markets, interlopers appeared and sought to wrest from him those which were well established and profitable; his agents would cheat him out of his receipts; sometimes, through the connivance of corrupt government officials, they defrauded him out of profitable privileges. Ilis creditors not only hounded him, but actively endeavored to break up the very business which was their onty reliance for payment.

For nearly twenty years his days and nights were spent in a continuons contest against adversity.

When he began the enterprise in 1805, being only u you h, he wrote on the cover of his journal, " Ile who gives back at the first repulse, without striking a second low, desparts of success, has not been, is not. ani ne erwill be a hero in love, war or business." Many timesin his long history of discouragements he

refers to this motto and takes courage again. He argnes with himself that it would be better to give it all up and enter some business where such labor as he has given would be well paid ; but he always finally decides to continue. He is, all through, completely overcome by the consciousness and conviction of a great im- pending result, and after each repulse, returns to the struggle with new energy.

In spite of innumerable reverses, which permitted only the slowest progress, he at last got the trade in- to a condition in which an ultimate reward of great profit was certain. His success encouraged a return to his earliest business of trading in merchandise.

A speculation in coffee, conceived and managed by his friend, Mr. Parrish, of Philadelphia, in which he took an interest, resulted in great loss, and, as he was still without great resources, caused his failure. Calling his creditors together, he assured them of his ability and willingness to pay them all in full with interest, if they would give him time. Assuming thus an enormous debt, and terribly handicapped by it, he went to work to accomplish its payment, which he finally did after years of patient perseverance, his business growing meanwhile, and enabling him to accumulate, besides, a large property.

His early youth had been largely spent upon his father's county place, "Rockwood " (now the Poor Farm of the town of Sangus), where the homestead is still standing. Here he and his brothers and sis- ters indulged their taste for gardening, farming and country life, and entered actively into the study of nature and the making of agricultural experiments. They kept a record of their doings mainly in the handwriting of the boy Frederic, who even then seemed overflowing with ideas and enthusiasm. Although he was the ouly one of four brothers who was not graduated from Harvard College (which he never ceased to regret afterwards), he had great fondness for letters and the company of cultivated people.

While attending to his work, extending the ice trade to all parts of the tropics, where Europeans or Americans had gathered in large enough numbers to make his shipments of ice profitable, he found time to cultivate his mind by study and reading and by converse and association with leading intellects, and in later years to indulge his fancy in the rearing of plants and trees at his country place.

It was probably as a horticulturist that he was best known in Essex and adjoining counties.

Fond of the sea, he had, along with Col. Perkins, Stephen Codman and others, been first to pitch upon that gem of the ocean, Nahant, recognizing its great charms as a summer resort. Originally a common be- longing to the town of Lynn, and used from the earliest time as a pasture, the promontory had been stripped of what must have been a crowning beanty, its forest trees.

Tudor, who had now made Nahant his home, set

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about to restore this feature somewhat ; and in addi- duct as to be remarkable, and make him a most enter- tion to the extensive gardens which he laid out on taining companion. While he was a stubborn fighter for his own rights, he was generous in conceding the rights of others. He had a deep sense of religion, without cant ; was charitable, yet with discriminating justice. He possessed a romantic, even poetic nature, and his hard life, ever subdued his finer feelings or diminished his sympathy with his fellow-men. He was a champion to the weak and to women chivalrous in an unusual degree. his own grounds, located and built the public roads, and planted and cared for trees on their margins. The promontory being so bold and high, offered no shelter from the merciless arctic winds of winter; the site was dry, bleak and most unpromising for ex- periments in horticulture. But it was his character- istic both to test the unknown and to accomplish the impossible.

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 108

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1672

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1672