History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 197

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 197

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James Coffin, Co. B, 11th N. H. Regt. ; quota New Hampshire, died in prison.

The last event in the history of Newburyport re- maining to be referred to is the arrival of Lieuten- ant Adolphus Washington Greely, a native of the city, followed by the publie reception which was accorded him. As heroie and daring as were the deeds of the sons of Newburyport during the Revolu- tion aud the War of 1842, none exceeded the exploits of this young man, who illustrated by his patience, his fidelity, his indomitable courage in the frozen regions of the North, the lines of the poet, that

" Peace hath her victories No less renowned, than war."

It is doubtful whether, in all the trying scenes through which our country has passed, of fire and battle and flood, the hearts of the American people have been touched by a tenderer sympathy or a sweeter joy than the discovery of that little band of

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

heroic men, of which he was the devoted leader, and their gallant rescue excited.

Adolphus Washington Greely was born in New- buryport March 27, 1844. His early education was obtained at the public schools. Though fond of study and ambitious to receive a collegiate education, he was precluded from his wished-for career by cir- enmstances which it was impossible for him to control, and at the age of seventeen he entered as clerk the jewelry store of Fairbanks & Paul, in his native city, and seemed likely to pursue the devious and uncertain path of a business life, Six months later, however, the war broke out, and among the volunteers for three years' service he was one of the earliest to subscribe his name. He enlisted as private in the Byfield Rifle Rangers, who were afterwards assigned as Company B. to the Nineteenth Regiment of Massachusetts Volun- teers, under the command of Colonel Edward W. Hincks. Having speedily reached the position of orderly-sergeant, he felt that he was worthy of a commission. He was as brave as the bravest, and never thought of danger in the performance of his duty. Though immersed in the surroundings of war life, it is significant, both of his literary taste and utter fearlessness, that on one occasion, when going into a battle, he was more concerned about the fate of a scrap cut from a newspaper, laid aside to be read, than abont the dangers of the contest which he was about to enter.

In some way Governor Andrew became interested in him and wrote to Colonel Hineks concerning him. Colonel Hincks promptly replied, " There is no man in the army who deserves promotion more than A. W. Greely, and if I had a regiment like him I could whip the whole South." In consequence of this recommendation Governor Andrew appointed him second lieutenant in the regiment commanded by Colonel Robert G. Shaw. Another appointment, however, awaited him, and was accepted, of a second lieutenancy in a colored regiment, destined for New Orleans, under General Ullman. Lieutenant Greely was at the surrender of l'ort Hudson, and afterwards at New Orleans, where he had command of his regi- ment, as acting major. He was afterwards examined for admission into the regular army, and received a commission as second lieutenant, from which position he was afterwards promoted to be first lieutenant, and detailed into the Signal Corps. While in the service of this corps he was sent into Texas to build a government telegraph line, fifteen hundred miles in length, which was constructed, under great difficulties, in a manner entirely satisfactory to General Ullman, under whose directions he was acting. Ile was attached to the Signal Service when he undertook his expedition into the Arctic seas. The details of this expedition are a part of history, and need no reference to them in this narrative to perpetuate their memory. His reseue and return also rather illumine than borrow light from the historic page, and as long as the human heart is

capable of sympathizing with hardship and suffering, and admiring fidelity and heroism, these incidents will be again and again recalled aud applauded.

By an arrangement with the government Newbury- port was assigned as his landing-place. On Thurs- day, the 14th of August, as the guest of the city, he was accorded a public reception. The order of ex- ercises for the day included a procession, a formal welcome by Mayor W. A. Johnson, a response by Lieut. Greely, followed by a State welcome by Gov. John D. Robinson, collations for military and other organizations, speeches in the afternoon from the grand-stand in Brown Square, and fireworks in the evening. The procession, under the direction of Col. Charles L. Ayers, chief marshal, marched under escort of the Eighth Massachusetts Regiment of Vol- unter Militia, Lieut .- Colonel Francis A. Osgood commanding, and included the A. W. Bartlett Post 49, of Newburyport; the Major How l'ost 47, of Haverhill; Post 122, of Amesbury ; the Everett Pea- body Post 108, of Georgetown; the Charles Sumner Post 101, of Groveland; the Col. C. R. Mudge Post 114, of Merrimac; the Sons of Veterans, and Father Lennon Benevolent Association, of Newburyport ; the Newburyport Commandery Knights Templar ; the mayor and Lieut. Greely, and invited guests; the Fire Department, of Newburyport, with their guests- Merrimac No. 1, of Merrimac; the Volunteer Com- pany, of Salisbury ; and the Hook-and-Ladder Com- pany No. 1, of Amesbury. The music was furnished by the Salem Brass Band, the Newburyport Cadet Band and Drum Corps, the Reading Brass Band, Car- ter's Band of Boston, the Georgetown Cornet Band, the National Band of Lynn, the Rowley Brass Band, and the First Regiment Drum and Fife Corps. In the after- noon a band concert by Carter's Band was followed by speeches by Hon. Eben F. Stone, Major Ben : Perley Poore, Richard S. Spofford, Esq., Rev. H. M. Mott, James Parton, Esq., and Ilon. E. M. Boynton. The commandery, with guests, dined in their hall ; the mayor and guests dined in Fraternity HIall; the Eighth Regiment dined in City Hall, and the other organizations were provided for in various places. In the evening, fireworks at March's Hill and band concerts closed the exercises of a reception both well deserved and admirably conceived and carried out.

ST. PAUL'S CHURCH is an outgrowth of Queen Anne's Chapel at the Plains. The first Church of England minister to settle over the chapel was Rev. John Lambton, who came from England and assumed his duties November 12, 1712. In 1715 he returned to England, and was succeeded by Rev. llenry Lucas, who committed suicide August 23, 1720. Rev. Matthias Plant followed in 1722, and remained until his death, April 2, 1753. These three ministers were sent from England by the "Venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts." About the year 1740 St. Paul's Church, on the site of

ANVE

PAROCHAIL RESIDENCE.

REV. ARTHUR J. TEELING, RECTOR.

R. C. CHURCH AND SCHOOL PROPERTY,

NEWBURYPORT, MASS.

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NEWBURYPORT.

the present church, was opened, and Mr. Plant ofli- ciated in both St. Paul's and Queen Anne's. In 1751 Rev. Edward Bass, afterwards bishop, a Harvard graduate of 1744, became his assistant, and after his death succeeded to the full pastorate. In 1766 Queen Anne's Chapel was abandoned, and during the Revo- lution was blown down. Mr. Bass was rector until 1803, and was succeeded after his death by Rev. Dr. James Morse (Harvard, 1800), who remained in the pastorate until his death, April 2, 1842. Rev. John S. Davenport followed in 1845, remaining a year, and followed hy Rev. Edward A. Washburn (Harvard, 1838) until 1852, who was succeeded by Rev. William Horton ( Harvard, 1824), in 1853. Mr. Horton served until his death in 1863. Rev. John C. White followed with a service of seven years, resigning in 1870 to take the rectorship of St. Andrew's Church at Pitts- burgh, Pa. The next rector was Rev. George D. Johnson, who served until 1875, and is now reetor of Christ Church, New Brighton, S. I. Rev. Edward L Drown became rector in 1876, resigning in 1883, and followed by the present incumbent, Rev. James H. Van Buren. The present church edifice was built in 1800.

CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION .- Of the establishment and history of the Catholic Church in Newburyport the following interesting sketch has been furnished to the writer by Miss Katherine A. O'Keefe, of that eity.

Among the twenty-three first settlers of Newbury- port who built their simple homes on the River Park- er, over two centuries and a half ago, there was, probably, no representative of Catholicity. It is even doubtful if there was one open Catholic in all of what is now Massachusetts ; for in that colony Puritan intolerance against Roman Catholics had full sway. Indeed, in all New England there were but few Catholics, those few being French missionaries, mostly Jesuit, who came in the hope of converting the Indians. As early as 1650, however, although the Massachusetts General Court of 1647 had enacted that " Jesuits entering the colony should be expelled, and, if they returned, hanged," we find one of that order, Rev. and Father Druillettes, received as an en- voy from Canada, and hospitably entertained by the Governors of Plymouth, Massachusetts and New Haven, while another, Rev. John Pierron (the latter, however, disguised), traversed New England twenty years later, administering to the spiritual wants of the Catholics he found there.

The Revolution of 1688, and events resulting from it, drove many Catholics from Great Britain and Ire- land to Massachusetts and other parts of this coun- try in a vain search for religious freedom. Debarred from the consolation of their religion in this colony, they sought it as far away as Canada and New Brunswick, as we learn from a letter written in 1698 by the French commander, who asked for an Irish priest at St. John's for Catholics from Boston aud vi-

cinity, who had to go to French settlements in order to attend to their religious duties.

The first considerable body of Catholics that came to New England were the Acadians, who were east from their homes in 1755, and, to the number of two thousand, landed in various sea-ports of Massa- chusetts in 1756. As Newburyport was then one of the most important of these ports, it is probable that not a few of these exiles sought refuge there; and some of the many Newburyport names, clearly of French origin, may have been imported then as well as later, when they are supposed to have come as the results of the French Revolution.

The first tolerance given to Catholies in Massa- chusetts was during the Revolutionary War, when, in November, 1775, while Washington was in Boston as commander-in-chief, he forbade his soldiers celebrat- ing what was known as " Pope's Day," on the ground that the custom was offensive to the many Catholics in the American army and to Catholic France, their faithful ally. A still greater encouragement was given to Catholicity three years later, in 1778, when, Count D'Estaing and his Catholic soldiers being in Boston harbor, divine services were openly celebrated on the French fleet, and frequently attended by some of the most influential of Boston's Protestant citi- zens.

The records of the Revolutionary War show the im- portant part taken on the side of liberty by Catholics in all departments ; but so bitter had been the feeling against them in New England, that few of the many Catholic Revolutionary heroes went forth from our vicinity. At the elose of the struggle, we, accordingly, find only a small number here; the history of Boston showing only a few French and Spanish, and about thirty Irish Catholics. These few were allowed the use of a school-house for religious services, and had for their first pastor Father de la Porterie, who had been chaplain in the French Navy. He left Boston in 1789, and was succeeded for a brief period by an- other French priest, Father Rousselet, after whom the Catholics of Massachusetts were fortunate enough to have for their next pastor Rev. John Thayer, a native of Boston, who joined the Catholic Church while visiting Rome in 1783. Having studied for the priesthood and been ordained, he returned to this country and, in January, 1790, was given charge of the Boston Catholic Mission by Very Reverend Dr. Carroll, who, about the close of the Revolution, had been appointed prefect apostolic, and who soon after, August 15, 1790, was appointed first bishop of the United States.

The French Revolution of 1790 sent out another detachment of Catholics, priests and laymen, and that several eame to Newburyport may be seen by a collection of graves on the old burying hill, where those who died between 1792 and 1812 were buried. Of these, Mrs. Emery, a venerable old resident of Newburyport, in her " Reminiscences of a Nonagena-

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

rian," says: "Doubtless the whole number were Catholies, and, as at that period no ground had been consecrated in the Puritan town, this quiet spot was chosen in a Protestant burial-ground." Amongst the priests who came were Rev. Francis Matignon, who was sent by Bishop Carroll to Boston in 1792. This last event had quite an intimate connection with Newbury- port, as Father Matignon's coming enabled Father Thayer to visit every large town and village then settled in Massachusetts. The year of this visitation is not certainly known, but it was between 1792 and 1796. Within these dates, then, we may surely place the first visit of a priest to Newburyport-a note- worthy faet in a history of its Catholicity.

October, 1796, marked another date of some im- portance to Catholics in Newburyport,-the coming of Rev. John de Cheverus to Boston. There were thus three priests there, so that Father Cheverus was able to annually visit Salem, Newburyport, Ports- mouth, etc. It is not probable that there are any now living in Newburyport who remember these visits, but there are several who remember to have heard their parents speak of them and always with pleasure. Amongst these is Mrs. Alsar, a highly respected lady of Newburyport, whose father, the late Captain Brown, was an intimate friend of Father Cheverus. From her we learn that there were several French Catholic refugees there at the close of the last and the beginning of the present century, to whose spirit- ual wants, we may be sure he attended, as, also, to those of the Irish Catholics, of whose presence here about that time we get an idea from the many undoubtedly Irish Catholic names on Newburyport's records- names, for instance, like O'Brien, who, if, as we are told, they belong to the Maine O'Briens must have been originally Catholics, as the heroes of Machias Bay, the "Lexington of the Seas," were certainly members of that church.

The number of Catholics in the United States hay- ing so greatly increased, that Baltimore was made an arch-diocese in 1808, Boston was made an episcopal see, with Rev. Dr. Cheverus as the first bishop, his diocese being all New England. Concerning this per- jod, we again quote Mrs. Emery : " Captain William Cutler, of Newburyport, married a French lady, a member of the Roman Catholic Church. To baptize her infant and perform [administer ] other sacraments, Bishop Cheveraux, of Boston, occasionally visited Mrs. Cutler, of Newburyport, at her residence. There were some half-dozen French exiles and other foreigners in the place, also Catholics, who would assemble on these visits, in a chamber which Mrs. Cutler had fitted up for an oratory. These were the first Catholic services ever held in Newburyport."

After Bishop Cheverus' departure for France, where he was appointed cardinal, Very Rev. Benedict Fen- wick was consecrated his successor at Boston, and he, at that time, found at his disposal, in all New Eng- land, only three priests. Of these, the one in Boston

was Father Byrne, and there are still Catholics in Newburyport who remember persons going to Boston to be married by him, and carrying children there to be baptized.

We learn from a sketch of Bishop Fenwick that in 1827 he visited Newburyport, and other places in the eastern part of his diocese, administering the sacra- ments and preaching wherever it was practicable ; and learning from Mr. Colby, a well-known resident of Newburyport, that he remembers his father's going about that time to hear a Catholic clergyman speak at the old court-house on the Mall-the hearers being mostly Protestants-we conclude that Bishop Fenwick must have been the one. Father Wiley, of Salem, who was ordained 1827, is also remembered to have preached at the court-house, and was one of the first to celebrate divine service in the town, which he did at the residence of Mr. Hugh McGlew and others, at in- tervals until about 1840. From an address delivered on the occasion of Newburyport's two hundred and fifti- eth anniversary by its present Catholic pastor, we learn that, " as far back as 1839, Father French [afterwards pastor of a church in Lawrence from 1846 to 1851], on his way from Portland to Boston, stayed over and col- Jecting the few Catholics, offered for them the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the house of one of the Catholic residents." About 1841 the number of Catholics was found to have somewhat increased by the building of the railroad and the cotton factory. The number of Catholic families in the town at that time was ten. Of these, the older members, the parents, are all now dead except Mrs. Michael Murphy, who still lives on Middle Street. The members of these ten families having appealed to Bishop Fenwick for a priest, the first one especially appointed to take charge of the Catholies of Newburyport was Rev. Patrick Canavan, then the resident pastor of Dover, N. H. At first Father Canavan's visits were quarterly, then once a month, on which occasions he, at first, celebrated Mass at private houses. Some time about 1844, how- ever, there was a sufficient number to warrant the pur- chase of a building to be used as a chapel. The vestry of the Old South Church, at the corner of Federal and School Streets, was, accordingly, bought by Mr. Hugh McGlew, representing the Catholics, and moved to a lot already purchased on Charles Street. Here Father Canavan officiated until the spring of 1848, when, Bishop Fenwick having commissioned Rev. John O'Brien, the late respected and beloved pastor of St. Patrick's Church at Lowell, to take charge of the faithful in Chelsea, Newburyport and other castern sections, the desire of the Newburyport Catholics was at length gratified. Father O'Brien selected their town as the headquarters of his mission.

Father ()'Brien's first visit is well and pleasantly remembered by many persons still in Newburyport. Hle spent his first night at the Merrimac House, and the following day, accompanied by two of his pros- pective parishioners, took a survey of the place and

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NEWBURYPORT.

hired a tenement, the present No. 6 in a block on Tremont Street. Afterwards, in order to be nearer to the little church, he moved to another tenement in a block on Charles Street.

During Father O'Brien's stay in Newburyport he did everything possible to advance the cause of reli- gion ; his genial manner, cultured mind, pious zeal and interest for the good of the general public, both Catholic and Protestant, being very powerful in soft- ening the asperities with which those who differ from them in religion are apt to look upon the first Catholic priest that takes up his residence amongst them. His superior abilities and marked success in Newburyport led to his being called to a broader field. He was accordingly appointed to the pastorate of St. Patrick's Church at Lowell, where he remained until the 3Ist of October, 1874, when he departed to his reward, leaving a memory that will be long revered.

Father O'Brien's successor was one who was also much loved and respected by all who knew him, Rev. Henry Lennon. Father Lennon was ordained in May, 1848, after which he went for a few months to St. Albans, Vt., as assistant to Father Hamilton ; whence he went to Newburyport Christmas eve, 1848. Soon the little church on Charles Street became too small for the congregation, and from deeds kept on file by the present pastor we learn that land for the church on Green Street was bought from Moses E. Hale and John Osgood by John II. Nichols, of Sa- lem, and conveyed by the latter to Bishop Fitzpat- rick, of Boston, for the Catholics of Newburyport. The last deed was dated May 10, 1851, and the price paid was $1800.

The corner-stone of the church erected on this land-the present Church of the Immaculate Concep- tion-was laid, with the usual impre-sive ceremonies, Tuesday, April 27, 1852, by Rt. Rev. Bishop Fitzpat- rick, attended by twenty priests, in the presence of about two thousand people; and the sermon was delivered by Rev. Father McElroy, a learned and eloquent Jesuit priest, who had, a few years previous, served as chaplain in the American army during the Mexican War. The Newburyport Herald of April 30, 1852, thus concludes its synopsis of this sermon : " The speaker paid a deserved compliment to the pastor of the church for his labors, for his self-denial, his modest and retiring character and the signal suc- cess that had attended his ministrations; and con- cluded by thanking the citizens of this city for their liberality and good feeling towards the society and the city authorities for the use of the City Hall on the occasion." This last refers to the fact that the City Hall was placed at the disposal of the Catholics that morning. It was there the priests vested them- selves, and thence they and the members of the con- gregation passed to Green Street.

The architect of the church was Mr. P. C. Keely, of Brooklyn, N. Y., this being the first church in the

diocese built under his direction. Work progressed so rapidly that it was ready for dedication in a little less than a year. The cost of the building, including altar and pews, was $20,000, The dedication took place St. Patrick's Day, 1853, the ceremony being performed by Rt. Rev. Bishop Fitzpatrick, and the sermon preached by Rev. Father Boyce, of Wor- cester.

Over a score of years the Catholics of Newburyport were blessed with the ministrations of Rev. Father Lennon, and disturbed by little, save a trifling and transient cloud of intolerance which attended the formation of the "Know-Nothing" party in 1854. During that long period Father Lennon won for him- self and, through his good influence upon his people, for them also, the good will and confidence of the community. The beneficial result of this was strik- ingly manifest during the financial crisis of 1857, when, by the good advice he gave his people, he pre- vented a "run " on the Institution of Savings, and thus, probably, saved it from financial difficulty. His health, however, was precarious, and his labors in attending not only to the Catholics in Newburyport, but to those in Ipswich, Rowley. Newbury, West Newbury, Salisbury and Amesbury were so great that he was obliged to procure an assistant, the first being Rev. M. Carraher, during whose term of ser- vice Father Lennon took a short vacation, soon after the dedication of the church. While he was absent Father Carraher, acting for the parishioners, pur- chased from a minister of the Baptist Church, for a parochial residence, the one long used for that pur- pose on Court Street, and they agreeably surprised Father Lennon with it on his return. Father Carraber having been called to another field of labor, was suc- ceeded by various other assistants, the principal of whom were Rev. John Brady, during whose service the church in Amesbury was built, of which he is now the pastor, having been appointed to that position in the fall of 1867; and Rev. P. J. Halley, who was officiating at the time of Father Lennon's death. This sad event took place about nine o'clock, Thurs- day evening, July 13, 1871, at which time he was fifty-one years old. His funeral took place the follow - ing Saturday, July 15th, and the universal respect in which he was held was particularly manifested on that occasion, when the church was crowded by sin- cere mourners of all denominations. The funeral Mass was celebrated by Very Rev. P. F. Lyndon, of Boston, and the discourse-a most touching tribute to the virtues of the departed-was by Rev. James A. Ilealey, then of Boston, now the Right Rev. Bishop of Portland, Me.

At the conclusion of the Mass the remains were borne to the grave prepared for them at the southeast side of the church. And, " Thus," says the Newbury- port Herald, " was buried a good man and a good pas- tor, one whose influence on his people is admitted by people of all sects to have been beneficial to them

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

and for the interest of the community in which he and they lived."

It may be a not uninteresting fact that Newbury- port's next and present pastor, Rev. Arthur J. Teel- ing, was, at that time, and had been for three years, assistant to Rev. John O'Brien, of Lowell, Newbury- port's first pastor. Perhaps from the one whose brief sojourn in that town had been so successful, and who had given the good work such a strong impetus on the right road, Father Teeling, in the impressionable days of his early priesthood, imbibed some of the zeal that, during his pastorate, has crowned the church of Newburyport with a success almost un- precedented in the ecclesiastical records of Massachu- setts and equal to that of any church in the country similarly situated.

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 197

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