History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 110

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 110

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In 1856 Mr. Lodge bought some land adjoining Mr. Cabot's house, where he lived, and amnsed himself by cultivating and improving it. About a year later he formally became a citizen of the town, and inter ested himself more than ever in its welfare and ad- vancement. At the same time the great panie ruined, among many others, the Chicopee Mills, and Mr. Lodge was chosen treasurer of the corporation, thus undertaking, in addition to his already exten- sive business, the heavy burden of restoring the for- tunes of the bankrupt company.

While he was thus engaged the War of the Re- bellion broke upon the country. Unable, on account of physical disability, to enter the army, as he wished, he threw himself into every measure in support of the war with characteristic intensity. His name stands at the head of the subscription to raise and equip the little quota of Nabant, and in Boston he

gave lavishly to every similar demand. To one friend who came to him for a subscription for some new regiment, he handed his signed check with the amount left blank, to be filled up at the pleasure of the committee.

In 1861 the hotel at Nahant on East Point was de- stroyed by fire, and the property was thrown upon the market. Mr. Lodge, who had long desired a larger place than the one which he occupied, imme- diately bought the hotel estate for the mortgages then upon it, and at once set about putting the property in order, with a view to building there. This was the amusement and pleasure of the summer of 1862, the last of his life. The cares of his business, the work of restoring the Chicopee Mills, which had been suc- cessfully accomplished, and the intense anxiety which he felt as to the war, all combined to break down a strong constitution. He never spared him- self, but gave to everything his utmost strength, without reckoning the cost. The vital forces had been sapped, and he died suddenly at his home in Nahant, September 11, 1862. He left a widow and two children,-Elizabeth Cabot James, the wife of George Abbot James, and Henry Cabot Lodge, who still own and live upon the East Point estate at Na- hant.

The editor of the New York Express Messenger, in the last number of that journal, informs his readers that he has found at last the right spot to spend the warm weather in. We quote his advice and descrip- tion, as both are seasonable at this time. He begins his epistle from Nahant in the following strain :

"O! thon fagged and jaded citizen, well nigh worn bone-bare by the moil and heat of 'the town,'hast ever been to Nahant ?

" And you, ye pleasure-seekers, ye hunters after cool spots and invig- orating breezes, if ye have never been to Nahant, ye cannot possibly have an adequate idea of its unapproachable superiority over every other watering-place in this hemisphere.

" Probably there is not a habitable acre upon any sea-coast, upon this or any other continent, so wildly and grandly picturesque, yet abound- ing in comfort."

" It is a narrow tongue of rock and earth, thrust out from the land, into the sea, to cool.

"On three sides it is bounded by the blue waters of the Atlantic, and fanned by ocean winds which are whistling around my ears as I scribble this.

" Nature has done much for Nabant-in fact, almost all-and art has supplied the deficiency.

" To those familiar with Boston and its beautiful vicinities, nothing new can be told, perbaps, about the locality amid whose cooling breezes it is now my felicity to sojourn, while my southern and western friends and the self-sacrificing fashionable at Saratoga are sweltering in the horrid, torrid temperature of from ninety to a hundred degrees Fahr- enheit.

" But there are thousands at this moment prospecting through the country for a cool spot to 'lay off in,' who must be in heathen igno- ranco of the fact that Nahant is the place where all the sea-breezes ' put in' when other shores are too hot for them, and that here is the most spa- cious and magnificent temple that old Neptune has ever raised to his honor.

" Ang. 4, 1851."

FISHING INTEREST .- From the earliest times the fishing interest largely entered into the support of the townspeople, and from it quite a revenue was derived. Fishing vessels were owned by Nahant residents from

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the first; but we know but little of the real history of these very early boats and crews. In 1824 the well-known schooner "Lafayette," which was built at Essex, was at Nahant. This fishing vessel, with her crew of native fishermen, had many an adventure ; but with the skillful management of her captain and crew, she always reached her moorings in safety, and we have no casualty to record in her many voyages. She was built after the old style fishing boats of her day, having a sharp or " pinky " stern, full bows and schooner rig, being of thirty tons burden. Her two skippers were Caleb and Joseph Johnson. Joseph was always in command during the winter months, but Caleb was her more permanent skipper. Both were remarkable men, as is shown by their abilities as pilots and seamen on their fishing trips, for the only nautical instrument they had, with which to navigate their craft, was a compass, which, through neglect, was often out of order. It is related that one of them, when twenty miles from land, in a thick snow-storm, kept saying to himself, " How can I find where the land is without a compass?" but in spite of his dark forebodings, he made Boston Light exactly ahead, showing his great and instinctive judgment. They never forgot the bearings of the various fishing- grounds, although years might have elapsed since they had last visited them. As pilots in Boston Har- bor, none could excel them, either in day or night navigation, and they seemed to be familiar with every channel, rock and shoal. For fifty years Caleb was constantly employed in fishing, until a severe accident happened to him by falling through an upper scaffold floor in his barn, from which fall he never fully re- covered.

C'aleb Johnson was noted for his caution, but his brother. Joseph, was of a different type, and neither wind, weather or roughness of the sea daunted him, and he was always remarkable for his endurance. Joseph never left his fishing-lines until he had caught the fish he was after, and he would always bring home his full share of them. When an old man he spent a day on the fishing-grounds, in his favorite craft, the " Lafayette," and, en returning home, a northwest gale sprang up, and he was allowed to take the holm. The old pluck had not abated one jot. Ile carried sail, and refused to have a reef taken, until the crew, be- conng alarmed, persuaded him to leave the helin. This proved to be his last " trick at the wheel."

Thor falho trips were of short du. ation, and were known pe shore ir market voyages. They left home in the early morning, caught a fare of fish, and got them fresh the eune day to Baton market. Their boats were kept alino t constantly sailing, except when actu- hly on the Ishit- rounds, and at their moorings, or at the wharf we bos on flurbor. They started from home or market in the night, so as " to catch the fish of how w Lot of their fins, " as the old fishermen p .dnt. To penracy and ability required to make the ex recspot of land Intended to be made,

often without either compass or timepiece, in running for harbor from the different fishing-grounds in stormy and foggy weather, is worthy of mention. The "dipsy " lead and the compass were, as a general rule, all the nautical instruments owned and used by them.

Fish were then quite abundant and not unfre- quently the catch would be one thousand pounds to a man. Two fishing-lines only were used by each fisherman, so that it required both taet and skill to secure a full share of fish. Through their good judg- ment and constant watchfulness, they managed to escape many dangers, and, indeed, very few serions accidents have ever occurred at Nahant.

A story is related of a narrow escape of the achooner " Lafayette." On one of her trips to Boston, which she had safely reached in a severe northeast snow-storm, she took shelter by the side of a large schooner : her sails were furled and the erew had "turned in;" but through the habit of a life-long watchfulness, one of the erew, on looking out of the forecastle to see if all was well, perceived a brig, which had broken loose from Lewis' Wharf, coming before the wind, and heading exactly to the spot where the " Lafayette" lay. With surprising quickness the crew of the "Lafayette" moved their boat out of the way ; the brig at the same moment just grazed her and struck and sunk the large schooner, beside which she had been lying. The stories of narrow es- capes and perilous runs would fill a volume, but as one expressed it, "we always knew where we were, and trusted to the staunchness of our boats to bring ns safely home."

It is related of a successful skipper, who had been persuaded to retire from fishing and open a fish market in a neighboring city, that, while carrying an order which led him past the bay, then being lashed by a "Nor' Easter," he paused and, looking wistfully over the sea, was heard to say to himself: " If I was only out there in the bay at anchor, with mast and sails blown away, I should feel all right, but to carry a pint of oysters three miles is a small business."

On the introduction of trawl-fishing, bay-fishing, which had been carried on for many years previous to 1860, was abandoned at Nahant. But the fishing- grounds are now barren of fish, where once they were so plenty. It is not to be wondered at that this should be the case, when one considers that in trawl- fishing one man uses a line a mile long, to which are attached fifteen hundred or two thousand hooks. In this way a crew of ten men would fish ten miles of line, having twenty thousand baited hooks; whereas in bay-fishing one man used only two lines, having one or two hooks only attached. Covering the fishing- ground with these hundreds of trawls soon broke up the schools of fish that regularly came in the bay to lay their spawn, and it is a sad fact that the square miles of water now looked upon from our headlands, and once so productive of fish and so remunerative to

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the townspeople, have been entirely abandoned and are no longer productive.

The schooner " Foam," built at Salisbury in 1844, was one of the first sharp boats built for fishing. She had a sharp bow, with a square stern, was of about thirty tons and was schooner rigged. She proved to be one of the fastest fishing boats in her day. She was used in the summer as an excursion boat, and the rest of the year in bay-fishing. Per- haps no crew has ever brought home better fares and stocked more money than the crew of this boat. Like the "Lafayette," the "Foam" was a lneky boat, no very serious casualties happening to her or her crew, although she was in the bay in the roughest of weather, and had her full share in perilous events. In a famous sail in Boston Harbor, with the schooner " Jane," of Swampscott, a schooner that never was beaten by any fishing vessel, the "Foam " proved herself to be nearly her equal in speed, although she was but half the tonnage of the "Jane." This gave our little Nahant schooner a notoriety that was re- membered through her long and successful career. In the gale of September 8, 1869, by the parting of her cable, she went ashore on Phillips Beach, Swamp- scott, and was a total wreck.

In 1858 the business of winter lobstering was be- gun, and in this occupation the last vessels of the fleet of fishing boats were employed. This proved a profitable business, and employed about forty men and four vessels. The "great stock" of money re- ceived some seasons would be as much as thirty thou- sand dollars. The lobster proved not to be a migra- tory fish, but a native, so that a number of given lo- calities in the hay were in a few years almost entire- ly stripped of them. At the present time all this staunch fleet of vessels employed in this business has been disposed of. At one time one thousand and twelve hundred lobsters have been taken from one hundred traps, making an average of twelve lob- sters to a trap. Half that average was the common fare. Each year's lobstering showed clearly to all that this industry would be short-lived. A law was enacted to protect all the smaller lobsters under ten and a half inches long; but the decrease in the catch under this law so increased the demand that it encouraged the fishermen to make the law of but little, if any, protection to the lobster.

Another branch of the fishery was in supplying the local market. Cod, haddock and halibut were plentiful, so that one fisherman with his two fishing- lines could easily supply the fish for nearly every family during the summer months. The supply was caught every morning, and delivered to the several families in season to be served at dinner. A fish two days old was not thought fit for the table, even if kept in an ice-house, which then, in every family, took the place of the present refrigerator. From two to three hundred pounds was the average catch per man, with often a halibut to increase his fare of morning's

fishing, while the smaller fish were so abundant that they were not of much account. Compare this with the present day. No one now thinks of making fish- ing a business here, for supplying the hotels and summer residents. The most expert fisherman could now hardly catch enough cod, haddock and halibut to supply his own table. The fresh fish now kept in the markets is from Boston and other markets ; nearly all the halibut comes from the Banks, usually not less than a week old; the cod and haddock are sometimes a day or two old, while the lobsters used are partly imported from Canadian waters. The modern improvements in packing fish in ice-chests aboard of the large fishing vessels, which now take the supply of fish from the Georges and the Grand Banks for the Boston markets, obviates in a measure the loss of the supply formerly caught. It would seem, if the Legislature should abolish trawl-fishing in our bay, and protect the menhaden and other small fish, known to be the natural food-fish for the cod and haddock, from the purse seine and if the catching of lobsters be forbidden at stated times, we might yet, in the future, be encouraged in the hope of once more having the fresh fish daily supplied for our tables and the old industry renewed.

February 11, 1858, while fishing was still an in- dustry with us, the schooner "Charles Amory," of sixteen tons, was christened. It was the first vessel ever built at Nahant, and was the work of Mr. E. J. Johnson. At the christening Mr. Walter Johnson served as president of the day. The exercises were opened by singing "A Life on the Ocean Wave," in which all joined ; an address was then given by Al- fred D. Johnson, parts of which may be quoted.

"It is indeed fitting that he whose name is asso- ciated with those of the best friends of Nahant, whose humanity has caused him to exert a powerful influence in behalf of the suffering sons of the sea, who has by his influence caused our whole coast to be supplied with life-boats and apparatus to relieve the shipwrecked from a dreadful death, and who for years has been among the first to encourage and help on all movements calculated to promote the pros- perity of our people, should receive this tribute of gratitude. . . . Go, then, little craft, from this spot, whence you have sprung into existence, to the waters, towards which you are steadily pointing, and upon whose bosom you are to find your future home; and as you spread your wings to catch the favoring breezes of heaven, may prosperity attend you, and may this gilded hand which adorns your brow ever successfully point out to your gallant crew a haven of safety from the stormy dangers through which you will successfully bear them. May you combat the stormy waves for years, remaining, as now, the favor- ite of all, the pride of your owners and crew,-and may no one ever have cause to regret that you bear the honored name of Charles Amory."

This interesting event was further celebrated at the

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residence of Jonathan Johnson, where one hundred guests were present at tea, and atter tea, music and dancing continued until morning.

This little eraft proved to be an excellent sailor and sea-boat. She remained in the fishing fleet at Nahant until sold to parties in Scituate, where she kept up her former reputation.

The following are the names of some of the vessels that have been engaged in the fishing business at Nahant : The " Dolphin," " Jefferson," "Sally Ann," " ('aroline," "Lafayette," "Josephine," " Foam," " Fairy Queen," "Spray," "Susan," "Greyhound," "Faustina," " Fashion," " Charles Amory," "Lizzie Phillips," "Frederick Tudor," "Signet," "Joseph and Henry," " Panther," " Echo," " Zephyr," " Fox, ' "Jolin Randolph," " Raven," " Evergreen," " Unity," " James and Isaac," " General Marion."

INDUSTRIES .- Besides the fishing interest at Na- hant, binding and making shoes was also a profitable employment for many of the people. Manufacturing shoes was at one time commenced, but it did not prove suecessful and was soon abandoned. A shoe- making shop in the early days here was usually a small building ten feet square, with four windows and a door and window in the front. This building was usually painted red or white, and was lathed and plastered inside, with a chimney in the end, held up by two joints. In the centre of the room was a box stove. Sometimes a room was finished off for a shoe_ making shop in the loft of a barn, and one was over the grocery store, with a stairway leading to it, outside.

Each shop was known by a local name; one was called the " Band-box," two others went by the name of the " House of Commons " and the " Invincible," the latter being generally well crowded with men and filled with tobacco smoke, especially in stormy weather, when the fishermen conld not go on the bay. In these times, especially in the evening, the toiler on the bench, having but two tallow candles for light, could only pursne his work with difficulty, the tobacco smoke becoming so dense that the dim light could hardly be distinguishable across the room. The " Invincibles " were never known to be smoked out but once, although it was many times attempted. The binding of shoes was done by the mothers and daughters in their several homes, but the sewing-ma- chine soon did away with this employment. Sewing societies were held in turn at each house for binding shoes, the proceeds being invested in cioth to make clothing for the poor in Lynn, for Nahant had no poor. The ladies spent the afternoon in working, but in the evening the men were invited to tea, and the long tables would be loaded with the best the market could produce. The people of the town were bike one family, ab equals, happy and prosperous. The introduction of the machinery now used in man- utacturing shoes has caused this once profitable busi- How to be entirely abandoned, nothing of the kind being now carried on in the town.

Thus to catch a fish and make a shoe were in those times the two arts of life here, but they are now among our "lost arts." Considerable attention was paid to farming in those days ; many acres of land were tilled, and each family had sutficient ground for a garden, with fields of grain and vegetables besides. The harvest of the Rice, Hood and Johnson families in the autumn was of no little account. The husk- ing-parties in "Uncle Caleb's " barn and "Aunt Olive's " generous suppers ought never to be for- gotten. Peace and plenty were in every household.

SHIPWRECKS AND STORMS .- Nahant, from its ear- liest settlement to the present day, has had its full share of storms and shipwrecks. We give below a list of vessels that have been cast away on our shores. This list has been collected from newspaper files, Lewis' "History of Lynn and Nahant," and from private journals.

February 18, 1631, a vessel, owned by Captain Thomas Wiggin, of Portsmouth, was wrecked on Long Beach. December 17, 1740, in a great storm a vessel was wrecked on Nahant rocks. February 24, 1755, a schooner from Salem was cast away on Short Beach. February 6, 1757, two merchant vessels from London, valued at £100,000, were wrecked on Lynn Beach. February 8, 1766, an English brig, from Hull, was cast away on Pond Beach, on the south side of Nahant. 1769, a sloop was driven ashore at Nahant in a severe storm. March 21, 1772, a fishing schooner was wrecked on Long Beach, and Jonathan Collins and William Boynton, the only two men on board, were drowned. January 26, 1778, a sloop commanded by Captain Pendleton was wrecked on Lynn Beach. December 9, 1795, the Scottish brig " Peggy," Captain John Williamson, from Cape Breton, was wrecked near the southern end of Lynn Beach. There were twelve men on board, only one of whom, Hugh Cameron, of Greenock, Scotland, es- caped. May 10, 1827, a schooner from Kennebunk was driven, by a storm, upon Lyun Beach and was dismasted. March 5, 1829, a brig named " Elizabeth and Ann" was cast away on the Shag Rocks, Na- hant, wbere all her crew perished. She was dashed entirely to pieces. December 17, 1836, the brig "Shamrock," Captain Jostin, of Boston, was wrecked on Long Beach. December 15, 1840, the schooner "('atharine," from Philadelphia, bound for Boston, was wrecked on the rocks near Bass Point, Nahant. Captain Nichols and one man were saved. March 17, 18-t3, the schooner "Thomas," Captain William Sprowl, of Belfast, "was wrecked on Long Beach. November 21, 1851, the brig "Exile," of Yarmouth, N. S., Captain Sharp, was wrecked on Long Beach. Large quantities of her deck-load of wood were washed ashore. All her crew were saved. Septem- ber 30, 1856, the schooner "Shark," Captain Carlisle, bound from Bristol, Maine, for Boston, was wrecked on Long Beach. The vessel went to pieces ; but no

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lives were lost. The disaster was caused by the Egg Rock light being taken for that on Long Island.

The winter of 1857 was most severe in its cold weather and storms. On Friday and Saturday, the 16th and 17th of January, the thermometer sunk to fourteen degrees below zero. The wind had been from the northwest, which had made the sea smooth, so that Lynn Harbor was frozen over, and ice had formed in all the coves about Nahant; the bay be- tween Nahant and Swampscott was full of fields of ice, a thin sheet of ice extending to and beyond Egg Rock. Sunday morning the wind changed to the northeast, and snow began to fall. The wind in. creased steadily until sunset, when it became a hur- ricane. The howling of the wind around our dwell- ings, with the heavy falling and roar of the waves as they broke and beat upon the shore, brought a feel- ing of dread to all, yet " we all knew we could trust our rock-bound shore." Gusts of wind pressed so heavily against the windows and sides of the houses, that it would seem as if they must crush them in. Then there would be a lull in the storm, and the houses would sway back again as if to straighten up and brace themselves against the next terrible gust which was sure to follow. In these lulls the roar of the sea could be heard, and at intervals sounds like the discharge of signal guns, caused by the waters as they were thrown back into the gale from 'Spouting Horn. This lasted throughout the night. In the morning the gale had not abated, but, if anything, had increased; banks of snow had accumulated so fast in the night, that the doors were blocked, as if to make all prisoners while the storm lasted. In such a storm the shore must be searched, in order to discover the casualties of the past night,-shipwrecks or other disasters that may have happened,-but none but the strong and hardy could venture forth in this terrific gale. The north shore was found to be strewed with plank and timbers from some vessel that must have been lost in the night.

At the full of the tide, at noon, the wind and snow decreased a little, making Egg Rock visible from the shelter afforded on the lee-side of Dr. Mifflin's cot- tage, where a small party had gathered. Some woukd have called it a grand sight to have looked upon the ocean at such a time; but as I remember it, it was a terribly realistie scene of the power of the wind and ocean, rather than one of grandeur. The great waves, as they rolled in towards the shore, jarred the ground mmler our feet. At times Egg Rock seemed to be covered with water and spray, which would rise above the lantern. From the rock to the shore great waves rolled themselves over and over, gathering up the water in long lines to fall like a cataract as they met the receding undertow from the shore; then they would gather again, and, with tremendous force, dash against the rocky shore. These high waves would fall upon and completely cover Castle Rock, while from the summit of Cedar Island the water fell from

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 110

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