History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 122

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 122

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Daniel King, the elder, died May 28, 1672, leaving an estate appraised at £1528 9%. The son Daniel married Tabitha Walker, a daughter of Capt. Richard Walker, who lived a little west of Sangus River, and who became a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery at its organization, in 1638. The son Ralph married Elizabeth, also a daughter of Capt. Walker. There was a Shubael Walker, a farmer, living at Swampscott in 1640, who also had the title of captain. He was apparently a sort of migratory personage living at times in Rowley, where he was town clerk, in Haver- hill, Bradford and Reading. Ile married in Lynn.

Ralph King was a man of considerable local note in his day. His name stands first of the grantees in the Indian deed of Lynn, executed in 1686. He was one of the "Seven Prudential Men," or selectmen, in 1678. In 1679 he was lieutenant of a new troop of forty-eight men formed at Lynn in that year, his father-in-law, Richard Walker, being commander. Among his territorial possessions was the romantic little headland now known as Phillips Point. A very commendable episode in his life was his zeal in opposing the impudent pretensions of Secretary Ran- dolph, when, in 1688, he attempted, through a peti- tion to Governor Andros, to become possessor of the whole of Nahant, with the pleasant dream, no doubt, of erecting it into a lordly manor. But Mr. King was not left to work single-handed in this important matter, for such strong coadjutors as John Burrill, Oliver Purchis and Rev. Mr. Shepard entered into the affair with equal enthusiasm. He died in 1691, leaving an estate quite considerable for the time, the | inventory footing up £2365 48.

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Daniel King, the younger, does not appear to have been quite so public-spirited as his brother Ralph, though he was active, if not always successful, in bus- iness. In a memorandum dated May 6, 1653, he says : " I have rec. of my cosen, William Gny [of London]. a parcell of goods amounting to the valew of fforty- ilive pounds, fourteene shillings, nine pence starling money, which goods 1 have rec. upon the account of Guy as an adventure by him, promising to doe my outmost iudevor for the sale of the aforesaid goods, and to make him returns by Christmas next, if," etc. But such "ifs " seem to have intervened that a settle- ment was long delayed, and the matter finally got into court. Five years after-that is, in 1658-his father, Daniel King, Sr., makes the following statement : " Boston, this 14th of August, 1658, these presents witness that I, Daniell King, of Lyn, sener, doe acknowledge that Capt. Jnº. Peirce, commander of the ship 'Exchang,' hath bene with mee and de- manded of mee a debt of aboutt forty-five pounds, which my sone Danielt, did receive in goods of Mr. Wm. Guy, of London, haberdasher ; and my Answer is that my sone Daniel is gone to burbados and hath carried with him goods in order to the making the returne much more than I can judge will ballance that aceº. And I hope either by this time or very sudenly hee will return a satisfactory acco." Two years after the foregoing -namely, in 1660 - Mrs. Elizabeth King, mother of the delinquent Daniel, Jr., comes to the rescue of her son's credit and reputation in the following propitiatory epistle to her nephew, Guy: "from Linn, in New England, Decembr the 28th, 1660. . . . After respeckts presented, these carr to lett you under stand that yours wee have receved. Return you manny thanks for your pa- tiente lines, but being much troubled that wee yett cannot answer your ends according to your expeckta- tions. Many ways wee have tryed, by Burbadoes, by Bills of Exchange, and by getting of Bever for you, but as yet cannot procure anny of them. But by the next shepping, I hoape wee shall find out some way or other whereby you shall have sattisfacktion ; my sonn Ralph and my sonn Blaenny douth intend, if pleas god they live and doe well, to com to England ; sou hoping that you will bee pleased to ad one mitt of patience unto your aboundance which you have had, sve resting and remaining your ever loving Ante till death. Elizabeth King."

But few of the old King family are now to be found in Swampscott. Some of the descendants, however, are still making a mark in other places.

It will not be inappropriate to introduce brief notices of a few of the other families that have from time to time become conspicuous in Swampscott; es- pecially of such as have not come under notice clse- where.

BLANEY is an off Swampscott name. The first of the family here was John Blaney, who came in 1659. It does not appear just where he settled, but he mar-

ried Hannah, thought to be a daughter of Daniel King, the elder, and a sister of Ralph, so well known for his public spirit and business activity. He had six children, and some of his descendants remain in Swampscott and Lynn and many are scattered abroad. For his second wife he married Elizabeth, widow of Thomas Purchis, then in the eighth month of her widowhood. Mr. Purchis died in 1678, at the alleged age of a hundred and one years. He had been in Lynn but abont a dozen years, having removed hither from Maine, where he had long been engaged in the fur trade and where he owned extensive tracts of land, notably that on which Brunswick now stands, of which place he was the first settler. His house there was attacked by the Indians and pillaged at the time of the King Philip War, 1675, and he then re- moved hither. Blaney's Beach and Blaney Street perpetuate the name. The prosperity of the fishing business in early times was largely attributable to their enterprise, and some of the name are yet among the most thrifty in that industry.

BURRILL. - The Burrills appeared in Lynn at a very early day of the colony. George came in 1630 and was one of the richest of the planters. He set- tled near Tower Hill, in what is now known as West Lynn. He had sons,-George, Francis and John. It was long a famous family, and counted so many worthy sons and daughters that it was called the royal family of Lynn. So much concerning them appears in other connections in these pages, that little is needed here.

The Hon. Ebenezer Burrill, a grandson of George, the first comer, was born in 1679, and was a younger brother of the eminent presiding officer, John Burrill, so long in the House of Deputies, and who was com- pared by Governor Hutchinson to Sir Arthur Onslow, who had the reputation of being the most accom- plished speaker the House of Commons ever had. Ebenezer was himself much in public life, being a member of the Crown Governor's Council and a Representative for a number of years.

It was the Hon. Ebenezer who became the first set- tler of the name of Burrill in Swampscott. Ile set- tled, as elsewhere stated, on the estate given him by his father, and which included a portion of that be- longing to the late Hon, Enoch Redington Mudge. The old farm-house, which Mr. Mudge deeded to his daughter, Fanny Olive, in 1863, is the identical house in which Mr. Burrill lived. Whether he or his father built the house does not seem certain, though it was doubtless built about the time he took up his resi- dence there. He was thrifty and able to provide well for his family of ten children. And the writer has some pleasure, perhaps pardonable, in being able to trace his line to so respectable a source. Both his grandmothers were granddaughters of this worthy of our early days. Mr. Burrill died on the 6th of Sep- tember, 1761, at the age of eighty-two years. Some of his Swampscott lands are still owned by descend-

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ants, and though not many now remain, the name is perpetuated in Burrill Street.

Could space be allowed, it would be interesting to speak somewhat at large of others of the older fami- lies and also of deserving individuals of later days.

There was Captain NATHANIEL BLANCHARD, who came to Swampscott while yet a boy, determined to work his way up in the world. He served in the War of 1812 ; was captain of a company under the old military organization; was a selectman of Lynn, and a warm politician in the old Jacksonian days, and sometimes commanded the stalwart processions of the unterrified voters who marched up to the polls at the old Town Hall, on South Common Street, with their band of music. Good-natured and complaisant was he when his cohorts were not interfered with, but un- yielding and defiant when opposing partisans stood in the way. He did a thrifty business for many years in the fishing line, and was the builder of the first brick-house in Swampscott. He died in 1871.

EBENEZER WEEKS, who came to Swampscott in 1805, as poor as most of us, rose to be a substantial and much respected citizen. He engaged largely in the fisheries, and pursued the lobster trade long and to much profit. He also kept a public-house near Blaney's Beach, where many temporary sojourners have enjoyed his hospitality. He was a good specimen of the true Yankee, who is ever ready to turn his hand to whatever promises beneficial results, and his good judgment was generally a safe guide in his various enterprises.

INGALLS FAMILY .- This ancient family has been so frequently spoken of in other connections, that little need be said here. From those first settlers, Francis Ingalls and Edmund, his brother, the former of whom located as a tanner just within what is now the western border of Swampscott, and the latter in the same neighborhood, just over the present eastern bor- der of Lynn, have sprung descendants who have in almost every walk of life added honor to the family name. At the present day are to be found prominent representatives in all departments of business, in science and literature. In political stations, from the Senate of the United States down to the humble municipal office, and in military and diplomatie positions others appear, faithfully acquitting them- selves. Not many New England families can boast of a better record. A few of the lineage still remain in Swampscott.

PHILLIPS .- This name has long been known at Swampscott. The first settler of the family seems to have been Charles Phillips, His wife's name was Hannah, and he had two children, John and Hannah- He may have been father of the John, mentioned by Mr. Lewis under date 1650. The name of Walter Phillips likewise appears not long after. And it was to Walter and John that Elizabeth and Daniel King, in March, 1693, sold some four hundred acres of land which was a part of the Humphrey grant, and in-

cluded some of the land eastward from Fishing Point, which has of late years become of great value for summer resorts. Walter became a Quaker, and refused to perform military duty, for which a fourth of an acre of his land was seized in 1703, and sold for pay- ment of his fines. And he was one of the seventeen signers of the letter sent by the Lynn Quakers to Governor Dudley, who had requested a list of the names of those of the faith in the town. It was like- wise signed by Walter Phillips, Junior. Walter and John were ancestors of some of the most wealthy and conspicuous members of the family in later times. Indeed, it might have heen said, for many years, that not to know the Phillipses was not to know Swamp- scott. It was an energetic and thrifty family, as a whole, some being engaged in agriculture and some in the fisheries.

THOMAS WIDGER .- Capt. Widger was a typical representative of one class of the old Swampscott seamen. Though a native of Marblehead, he made Swampscott his home for many years, and died here on the 21st of January, 1871, at the age of eighty years. He commenced a sea-faring life when but nine years old, shipping at that time for a fishing voyage to the Grand Banks. He afterwards sailed on merchant voyages, and early in the War of 1812, was taken prisoner by the British, and remained a year in a prison ship. He was subsequently in the privateer service, sailing from Salem; was in the famous cruiser " America," which was said to be the fastest ship on the sea at that time. She was ex- tremely fortunately in her captures, bringing into port property valued at considerably more than $1,000,000. IIe was also on board that other noted Salem privateer, the brig "Grand Turk," which was manned by a hundred and fifty men, and carried eighteen nine-pounders. She was at first commanded by Capt. Holten J. Breed, a brother of Andrews Breed, who so long kept Lynn Hotel, and unele of the fifth mayor of Lynn. She captured nearly half a score of rich prizes, one with an invoice of £30,000 sterling, and another with specie to the 'amount of $17,500. At the close of the war, the "Grand Turk " was sold to the eminent merchant, William Gray. One of the cannons captured by her found its way to Swampscott, where it has done service as a patriotic mouth-piece on many occasions.

Mr. Widger, after the war, was again in the Grand Bank fishery ; and continued to follow the seas till age so pressed upon him that he fell back into the humble capacity of a dory fisherman. His habits were temperate, and through life he enjoyed remark- ably good health and well-preserved faculities, never requiring the use of spectacles in reading the finest print. An interesting incident in his stirring life, and one indicative of his horror of inhumanity in a sailor, was his joining in the famous feat of tarring and feathering " Old Floyd Ireson," which remark- able performance has been so often celebrated by his-

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torian and poet. It should, however, be kept in mind that it was long since positively denied, and with a show of much reason, that Skipper Ireson was guilty of the " hord-horted " act of refusing assistance to the wrecked crew, which was the occasion of his igno- minions treatment, but was the victim of false accu- sation.

In the career of Capt. Widger were aptly exempli- fied the vicissitudes of a sailor's life.

ENOCH REDINGTON MUDGE .- Upon the left of the highway near the entrance of Lower Swampscott by the Lynn road, and overlooking King's Beach, por- tions of Nahant, a long stretch of the bay, with rugged and precipitous shores, one may observe a beautiful stone villa with an extensive lawn in front and picturesque surroundings, indicating taste and wealth in the proprietor. This was the residence of the late Enoch R. Mudge.

The Mudge family did not appear in this immedi- ate vicinity at a very early period, though the name was known in the colony as early as 1638. In the desperate encounter with the Indians at Bloody Brook, September 18, 1675, James Mndge, a soldier in Lath- rop's " flower of Essex," was killed.

Mr. Mudge, the subject of this notice, was born in Orrington, Me., on the 22d of March, 1812, and was a son of Rev. Enoch Mudge, a native of Lynn, and the first Methodist minister born in New England, a man of fervid piety, great mental activity, and pos- ressing, withal, something of a poetic turn. At an early age Enoch Redington was united in marriage with Miss Caroline A. Patten, of Portland, Me., and they became the parents of seven children. One son and two daughters survived their parents. The eldest son, Charles Redington, a lieutenant-colonel in the Union forces, was killed in the battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, and the eldest daughter, Fanny Olive, died July 23, 1879. It was especially in memory of these that Mr. Mudge erected the beautiful St. Stephen's Memorial Church, on South Common Street, Lynn, the corner-stone being laid on the 19th of May, 1881.

Mr. Mudge purchased the Swampscott estate in 1843, and soon after set about erecting the villa above alluded to, and improving and embellishing the grounds, which embraced about a hundred and thirty acres; and there he continued to reside during the warm months, till his death, on Saturday, the Ist of October, 1881. He was at his place of business, in Boston, on Friday, and on his way home, towards night, called at the church iu Lynn, to inspect the concluding work there. Up to the time of retiring at night he appeared in his usual health; but the next morning, before rising, was seized by a severe pain in the head. Medical attendance was promptly sum- moned, and every effort made for his relief, but with- ont effect, and before noon he had breathed his last.

The burial service over the remains of Mr. Mudge was beld in St. Stephen's Church, then just on the verge of completion, on Tuesday, the 4th of October.

It was the first service of any kind ever held within those walls, was simple and in strict accordance with the rubrics. The edifice was entirely filled, large numbers of distinguished persons from abroad and many of the clergy being present. The large attendance of the authorities and citizens of Swampscott, and of the people of Lynu, indicated the high esteem in which he was held by his neighbors. The remains were conveyed to the cloister garth, and there, with prayer and sacred melody, and words of Heavenly promise and amid the tears of loved kindred, com- mitted to their final resting-place.

The death of no one in this community has pro- duced more wide-spread and unfeigned sorrow than that of Mr. Mudge, for he was universally respected for his integrity as a business man, his great liber- ality in the furtherance of all good works, and for his Christian principles and genial manners. By diligence, enterprise and uncommon business capa- city he had accumulated a large fortune, which he evidently regarded as entrusted to him for a higher purpose than to be expended in mere self-gratifica- tion. For many of the latter years of his life he was extensively concerned in cotton and woolen manu- facturing, though in earlier manhood his attention was directed to other pursuits.

Mr. Mudge undoubtedly regarded the erection of St. Stephen's Church as the crowning work of his life. And that elegant structure will long remain his noblest visible monument. It is gratifying to think that he lived to see the work well-nigh com- pleted, though it may be lamented that in the ways of a mysterious Providence he was not spared for a few additional days that he might witness the solemn ceremony of consecration-a consummation he so devoutly contemplated. His sudden decease sent a thrill through the community such as is rarely ex- perienced. And the numerous meetings that were held in Boston and elsewhere by business men and public associations, and the eulogistic addresses and resolutions of sympathy showed that one held in far more than ordinary esteem had been called from among us. Governor Alexander H. Rice, in an ad- dress before the Commercial Club at Boston, on the 15th of October, 1881, paid an affectionate tribute to the memory of Mr. Mudge, from which a few passages may be here introduced : "Mr. Mudge was so gen- erally known and so universally respected and be- loved, that since his departure every breath has seemed to bear his eulogy until the atmosphere has become eloquent with his praise." His biography " has all the merit and all the romance of so many American lives, which, from small beginnings, have widened into honorable and notable results. We, who lived in the same city with him and were famil- iar with his daily walk and conversation and deeds, hardly appreciated him until he was gone. It was difficult to enter the rounds of enterprise or charity and not encounter him ; for he was so interested in

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them all, that the whole social fabric seemed consti- tuted with him as an elemental part, aud all so inter - dependent with him, that we quite forgot the com- ing day when he would go, and the fabric stagger for a while under the loss of vitality which he con- tributed.

"I turned away from his grave the other day, as doubtless some of you did, with a sense of personal bereavement. The world seemed more vacant, life less cheerful ; shadows fell in unwonted places, and we walked pensively and with hushed voices, lest we should disturb the supernatural silence that was abroad. A friend of mine, with whom Mr. Mudge had been intimate, came to my office and said: 'I feel as if I had lost something, and I grope about fruitlessly to find it, and return with a larger appre- ciation of what has gone from us.'

"Do we not, must we not, in the consideration of such a life and of such a death, feel an illumination which dispels the shades of sorrow ?- a life so full of honor and so filled out in usefulness to its latest hours. In the church of his affections and in whose form of worship he delighted, among his life-long prayers was one that he might be delivered from sudden death; aud his prayer was answered. No summons could be sudden to him; none find him unprepared. Besides, to such as he, especially,

' There is no death ;

What seems so is transition ; this life of mortal breath Is but the suburb of the life elysian, Whose portal we call death.'"

In person Mr. Mudge was of full medium size, re- markably well formed, dignified in manners aud al- ways very atteutive to those who addressed him, whether high or low. He was quick of apprehen- sion, self-possessed, decided in his views and able at all times to give a reason for the faith that was in him. It was impossible for one to have intercourse with him for an hour and not perceive that he was a man of superior mental endowment. And those who had fellowship with him in church work were at onee impressed with his fidelity to his clearly-defined prineiples, his bright. cheerful anticipations, and his freedom from bigotry.

For political honors he did not aspire, though he served a term in the State Senate. Yet he took com- niendable interest in public affairs, labored and ex- pended liberally for the advancement of enterprises that he believed were for the public good. He man- ifested cspecial interest in young business men, gave lectures to them in Boston and improved every op- portunity to urge upon them the formation of habits of strict integrity, industry and moral rectitude, as the ground on which alone permanent prosperity could rest. Though he made no pretensions as an orator, he was yet a very effective speaker and one who always secured the close attention of his audit- ors. His style was earnest and indicative of his own deep convictions. His language was well chosen,

his points concisely and clearly presented, and his arguments effective from resting on a basis of sound common sense.

Mrs. Mndge survived her husband but a short time. And her remains, together with those of their chil- dren, Charles Redington and Fanny Olive, were laid beside his in the garth of St. Stephen's.

In 1886 the parish placed a fine chime of ten bells in the tower of the church, consecrating them " to the Triune God and the memory of him who gave the Church." The first ringing was on Easter-day.

CHAPTER CXXII. SWAMPSCOTT-(Continued).

MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS.

Egg Rock-Sea-Serpent-Wur of the Rebellion-Statistics-Religious So- cieties and other Organizations.

EGG ROCK .- Directly in front of Swampscott, and about three miles distant. lies Egg Rock, solitary, time-worn and storm-riven. It rises eighty-six feet above the tide, and in outline, when viewed from the north, bears some resemblance to a couchant lion, a circumstance which, in poetic couceit, has produced the figure of the king of beasts on perpetual guard against invasions from the sea. True, it is not so perfect in delineation as the Lion of St. Mark's, that guards old Venice, or Belgium's Lion, that overlooks the field of Waterloo ; but the elastic imagination is sufficient to supply deficiencies.

The Rock can be reached by small boats in calut weather, aud a landing may be made at one point, and only one. It is of compact feldspar, three acres in extent, and has about one acre of arable soil. It was all in view of the celebrated scientist, Agassiz, as he meditatively sat upon the veranda of his delight- ful summer home at Nahant, and, as may well be supposed, attracted many an inquiring gaze,-inquir- ing as to its origin aud age. It is said that he pro- nounced it an outeropping of the rocky base of Na- hant, and asserted that it must have stood there, one of nature's earliest pyramids, ages before Europe emerged from the chaotic mass.

The name originated in the fact that formerly great numbers of sea-birds there deposited their eggs ; few, however, are at present seen about there. The Rock was ceded to the United States in 1856, and a light- house soon after erected upon it, at a cost of three thousand seven hundred dollars, the light being shown for the first time on the night of the 15th of September, 1856. It was at first a white light, but in June, 1857, was changed to red. The dome is one hundred aud seven feet above the sea.

It is in the waters about Egg Rock that the famous

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sca-serpent has pursued his gambols, attracted, per- haps, by the abundance of his favorite food. Sharks, too, are sometimes seen, opening their hungry jaws for a dainty morsel, that may not be found in deeper water. And even the venturesome, or more probably bewildered, whale has occasionally been seen within the dangerous precinct. Anciently, great quantities of the smaller fish were found here, and some kinds that are now sekom seen ; fish, as well as birds, hav- ing steadily retired before the pressing tide of human population.

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 122

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