History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 215

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 215

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Major Poore received his early education in the Dummer Academy, from which he graduated in 1832, at the age of twelve years. In the catalogue of the academy he is mentioned as belonging to New York, as at that time his father was engaged in business in that city. In 1831, while at school, he went to Europe with his father, and while there visited Sir Walter Scott, for whom Major . Poore's younger brother, who died in California, was named. After finally leaving school he served a few years' appren- ticeship at the printer's trade, which, however, he never pursued. At the age of sixteen he became a newspaper correspondent, and at that time, in 1838, he wrote his first letter to the Boston Atlas, a journal to which, as a letter writer, he was attached for many years. From 1838 to 1840 he edited the Southern W'hig, at Athens, Georgia, and in 1840 was attache of legation to Il. W. Hilliard, at Brussels. In 1844 he went to Paris, where he remained until 1848, aeting as the agent of Massachusetts to collect facts from the marine and colonial departments of France touching the history of the Commonwealth. The results of his labors filled ten folio volume-, and were highly com-

mended by the Legislature. While in Paris he wrote a series of letters for the Boston Atlas and the Hartford Courant, which at that time, when our people were less familiar than now with European affairs, attracted the attention of intelligent readers, and were con- sidered authoritative upon the subjects of which they treated.

On his return from Europe he edited for a time the Boston Daily Bee and the American Sentinel, becom- ing, however, in 1854, the Washington correspondent of the Boston Journal, in which capacity, with more or less frequency, he wrote under the signature of " Perley " until his death. In 1854, also, he became secretary of the United States Agricultural Society and the editor of its journal. He was clerk of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations while Charles Sumner was its chairman, a period of abont ten years. Afterwards, for many years until his death, he was clerk of the Printing Records Com - mittee, but all the while keeping up his correspon- dence and familiarizing himself with everything connected with Washington, Congress, its members and its current business. He published an account of the conspiracy trial in 1865, and in 1867 bis in- valuable "Congressional Directory." Other works published by him were "The Life of General Taylor" in 1848, " The Rise and Fall of Louis Philippe " in the same year. "The Early Life of Napoleon " in 1851, "The Agricultural History of Essex County " at a later date, and his " Reminiscences." Major Poore died in Washington May 29, 1887, leaving a widow, who was Miss Virginia Dodge, of George- town, in the District of Columbia.

Among the residents at various times in West Newbury may be mentioned, in addition to those already referred to, Nathaniel Emery, an old Jeffer- sonian Democrat, and a fearless and independent man who opposed the division of the town ; his two sons, Eliphalet and Nicholas, who moved across the Arti- choke in order to keep their residence in Newbury and afterwards returned; Caleb and Joseph Kim- ball, enterprising farmers ; Edward Worth ; Nathan Rogers, who lived at Surinam, near the head-waters of the Artichoke ; Joshua and David Ordway, grand- sons of Hananiah Ordway, who killed the Indian on the Garrison Farm at Zion, near Indian Hill; Joseph Kelly, the tobaeconist, who lived at Mount Misery, between Surinam and Zion ; David Morse, the black- smith, one of whose daughters was the mother of Professor Felton; Thomas Huse Everett, whose mother was a sister of Thomas Huse, who gave his farm in West Newbury to his namesake ; Nat Hale, a cabinet-maker ; and John Chisemoni, a carpet-weaver, who lived by the road-side in Coker Lane. There was also Major Moses Moody, whose three daughters married Judge Crosby, of Lowell; Dixie Crosby, at one time Professor of Surgery in Dartmouth Col- lege; and Professor Smith of the Gilmanton Theo- logical Seminary. Ilis farm was opposite the First

1871

WEST NEWBURY.

Parish Church, and has been in later years owned by Moses Moody Ridgway. Daniel Emery aud Moses Newell were leading citizens, and for many years were prominent in town affairs.

The schools of West Newbury have always been good and liberally supported. There are now in the town two hundred and ninety-five children between the ages of five and fifteen, and provision for their education has been made by the establishment and maintenance of one high school, one grammar school, seven mixed schools and one primary school, sup- ported at an expense to the town, in 1886, of $3560.19.

The population of the town in 1885 was eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, and its valuation in 1886 was one million ninety-six thousand eight hundred and fifty-four dollars. While its population has been gradually diminishing, its property has been gradually increasing, and with its good soil, its delightful situ- ation, its existing horse-railroad communication with Haverhill, and a promised communication with New- buryport, it may be safely predicted that from this time forth it will increase in population, prosperity and wealth.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

DR. DEAN ROBINSON.1

In this day of multiplicity and great variety of doctors (so called) male and female, of different schools of medicine or no school at all, one can hardly imagine the dignified position of a well- instructed, competent physician seventy-five years ago, entering upon the practice of his profession with zeal and enthusiasm. The duties of such an one, especially if located in an agricultural town, were more arduous, in some respects, than would those of a country practitioner now be. At that time there were no railroads, with steam-power, in this State ; no telegraphs, no telephones.

Much of the mechanical and agricultural work was done without the aid of labor-saving machinery, now so convenient to lighten the toil of the artisan or farmer.

The country doctor of old time was obliged to be a druggist-to keep on hand a store of medicine-, and carry those required for his patients on his pro- fessional visits. He had to contend with all sorts of wind and weather, riding or driving over rough roads frequently ; neither could he summon his professional brethren for a consultation as rapidly as if the facili- ties for communication were greater. He also was obliged to work without the help of many agents which the increased discoveries of chemistry have introduced, and with rougher surgical instruments than those now in use.

But if the physician's labors were more arduous, with less pecuniary recompense, yet, if he performed them well, he was certain to receive more respect and esteem from the community than a good man, of the same profession, can expect in this irreverent genera- tion. Seventy-five years ago the minister and the doctor were looked up to with veneration. And this very consideration served as a stimulus to a man of correct feeling and high principle to " walk worthy " of his " vocation."

A young man of this description, Dean Robinson, M.D., with his family, settled, in 1811, in the west- ern part of the town of Newbury, Mass. (now West Newbury). The first house he occupied is situated about half a mile above the bridge over the Arti- choke River, on the road from Newburyport to Haverhill.

A letter in the writer's possession, dated April 22, 1811, written by a lady in the vicinity mentions "our new doctor" as the occupant of the house referred to above.

The opinion of a person who, with a friend, visited the new comers, is given, that they "were elegant and desirable neighbors," who received their visitors with great politeness and entertained them hand- somely.

This first impression made upon the neighbors by the doctor and his family was correct, and increased and deepened as years rolled on.

Dean Robinson, the son of John and Sarah Robin- son, of Andover, Mass., was born on the 15th of April, 1788. His father was not living when he came to Newbury, but his mother resided in the house with him. The writer remembers her as a gentle and dig- nified old lady. Her son reverenced and loved her to an unusual degree. She must have been very care- ful in training him in habits of industry, truth, and with religious principles.

Dean Robinson attended the common schools in his native town when a boy, and subsequently the academy in North Andover. Afterward he became a pupil of the Rev. P. Eaton, of Boxford, a learned and excellent Congregationalist minister, for whom he always entertained a high esteem. Mr. Robinson was for a time a teacher in Danvers, and was much respected by his pupils. It was customary at that time for young men preparing for a profession to teach school, in order to defray their own expenses for instruction; and in many cases this discipline had a good effect upon their own characters, and gave them much knowledge of human nature.

Mr. Robinson studied medicine with Dr. Thomas Kittredge, of Andover. a celebrated physician in the country.

He married Mrs. Elizabeth F. Farnham, nee Love- joy, of Andover, a young widow, with two children, who found a kind father in Dr. Robinson. One of these, a daughter, was married to Dr. Asa Story, of Manchester, Mass., and died in 1874, beloved and

J By Mrs. M. H. Emery.

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

respected. The son, Mr. Jacob Farnham, always made his home with his mother and step-father, and became an esteemed and useful citizen in the town of West Newbury, which was incorporated as a separate township in 1819.

Mrs. Robinson was truly a helpmeet for her hus- band. By the wise management of her household and untiring industry she greatly assisted him in acquiring a handsome property. Both Mrs. Robinson and the doctor always were remarkable for hospi- tality.

The doctor's only child, a daughter, was born in the house near the Artichoke River. Before Dr. Robinson's entrance into West Newbury, Dr. Poore, I think, occupied the whole professional ground. Some other physicians came to the place, but re- mained but a short time. Though there was enough work for two physicians, it was natural that the old doctor should feel somewhat sensitive at the appear- ance of a young brother in the profession. But so considerate and courteous was Dr. Robinson towards his senior, that they became, in time, good friends, and the younger attended the elder in his last sick- ness. The friendship between the two doctors and their families is continued to the present time by their descendants.

The writer is indebted to the late Major Ben : Perley Poore's obituary of Dr. Robinson for much of the material for this sketch. Dr. Robinson soon gained a good practice, which constantly increased, and with it his experience and reputation.

After some years of success he purchased a larger house about a mile above his first residence, where he lived many years. Here his daughter was mar- ried to Mr. Samuel Moody. While living at this place the doctor probably did the greater part of his pro- fessional work. He was now one of the best physi- cians in the county. He endeavored to keep up with the improvements of the times. He was a very " clear- headed " man, and his advice was often sought by his medical brethren. His practice was not confined to his own town, but extended to Newburyport, Georgetown, Amesbury and other neighboring towns. His patients, many of them, became his warm friends. His presence in a sick-room, as the writer recalls it as a youthful memory, brought hope and promise of relief to his patient. He would, after proper inquiries and examination and a few moments of apparently deep thought, prepare his medicine and give direc- tions in a manner to inspire such confidence that no one would dream of disobeying them. In a serious case he liked one person to take the responsibility. " Who stands nurse?" he has been heard to ask. There were no trained nurses at that time. Dr. Rob- inson was particularly attentive to patients among the poor and needy. If the instances of his gratuitous services and contributions of medicines and delicacies to the destitute had been recorded, the list would probably be long.

Dr. Robinson became a member of the Massachu- setts Medical Society in 1815. He was recorded as a retired member in 1849. He also belonged to the Essex North Medical Society, of which he was one of the founders. The increase of mechanical busi- ness in the western part of the town brought increase of work for a physician, and Dr. Boyd settled in that locality, He died of consumption after a few years' practice, and Dr. Robinson was a kind friend to him in his last illness.

In 1842, Dr. Robinson purchased the farm on Pipe-Stave Hill, once the residence of Hon. Tristram Dalton.

Dr. and Mrs. Robinson, for a number of years, en- joyed this beautiful estate, and their house was a delightful resort for their friends, who were very numerous. Their hospitality was also extended to strangers. It was not unusual for persons 10 come from some distance to consult the doctor, and to wait for him if he were absent on his rounds of visits, in which case refreshments were offered them, if the de- lay were long, no hotel being accessible.

The doctor was fond of agriculture, and superin- tended the work on his farm with success. He delighted especially in the cultivation of fine fruit. This business, which many would consider laborious, was, to the doctor, a relaxation from his medical work. He was one of those industrious men born in the last century, who made change of work recrea- tion.

He kept good horses, and was more careful for their comfort than his own, as he would return after his long drive, leave his tired steed to rest, and soon set off again with a fresh horse. As Major Poore wrote, he " continued to visit his old families, and to consult with the junior members of the profession, until he had to be borne in others' arms to the bedside of the patient."

For some years before his decease he was troubled with a chronic affection of the spine, which increased until he was unable to walk without assistance. He bore the affliction, heavy as it was for one of his ac- tive habits, with fortitude and patience. At the same time his wife was becoming very feeble, although she survived him more than two years.

For some time the doctor was confined to his bed. His last illness was cheered by the loving care of his daughter and her husband, his stepson and his grandson, who attended his grandfather with rare and unselfish devotion.

His medical brethren were attentive, and his rec- tor, the Rev. Dr. Horton, of St. Paul's, Newburyport, visited him, and, with prayers and administration of the Holy Communion from time to time, brought the consolations of religion to him while deprived of the ability to worship in church.

But the end came at length. In the words of his friend, the late Major Poore: "After devoting half a century of his earthly existence to the wants of the

Faithfully yours, Ben : Perley Poore

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WEST NEWBURY.

sick and suffering, Dr. Robinson's strength gradually faded away, under a chronic spinal affection ; but hi- mind retained its vigor until he gently sank into his last sleep." His death occurred August 22, 1863.

Another friend writes :

" By the death of Dr. Robioson, the community has lost a valuabl . man. He possessed a very discriminating mind, coupled with ao inteuse common sense, which gave to his judgment a value in most of the ordi- nary affairs of life, to which but few men attaio. He was also d ' Be- loved Physician,' as was well attested by the crowd of weeping friend-, who assembled . . . at his late residence on Pipe Stave Hill, to pay the last tribute of respect to his mortal remains, and to sincerely sympathize with a bereaved and heart-stricken family."

From a notice in a local paper :

" At a meeting of Essex North District Medical Society, held at Havel - hill, Oct. 5, 1863, the subscribers were chosen a committee with instruc- tion to express through the public papers their high sense of the eminent professional standing and social worth of our late associate, Dr. Dean Robinson, of West Newbury.

" The Committee, in behalf of the Society, adopt, and subscribe thie following resolutions :

" Resolred, That by the death of our respected friend, Dr. Robinson, the community have sustained the loss of an active and useful citizen,- the sick, of an intelligent, skillful and excellent physician,-and we, his companions, are deprived of one whose professional opinions we ever respected, and whose long connection with this Society, his devotion to its interest, the ability and zeal with which he discharged his duties, and his cheerful, manly and honorable demeanor h s wou him the re- spect and esteem of those who are, and have been, members of this Society. and who demand of us this tribute of regard.

" Resolred, That we express to his family our deep sense of their irreparable loss, and our sympathy with them in their bereavement, and our wish ever to unite with them in cherishing his memory.

" (Signed ) "' JEREMIAH SPUFFORD. " KENDALL FLINT.

" H. PERKINS."

MAJOR BEN : PERLEY POORE.

Ben : Perley Poore belonged to one of the oldest families of the town of Newbury, his ancestor, John Poore, having settled on the River Parker in 1635. He came from Wiltshire, England, where his family had been eminent in church and State; Herbert Poore, bishop of Sarum, having assisted at the coro- nation of King John, and nnited with the barons in wringing from his nnwilling hands the Magna Charta.

By his petition and his influence with King Rich- ard I. his See was removed from Sarum to Salisbury, and his brother, Richard Poore, was his successor ; through whose zeal and ability the building of salis. bury Cathedral was commenced. He laid the first stone on April 28, 1220, and preached the first ser- mon at its consecration, on St. Michaelmas day, 1225.

In Amesbury, England, from which our Amesbury derived its name, lived the great ancestor of the fam- ily, Philip le Poer, and from him for more than thir- ty generations the family has been easily traced.

In 1650 John Poore purchased Indian Hill and the land surrounding it from the Indians. It is one of the finest estates in Essex County, and overlooks the land and sea for a long distance.

vard in 1777. He was the classmate and friend of Rufus King, and the two assisted in planting the elm tree which now stands on the lawn in front of the honse at Indian Hill.

Colonel Benjamin Poore, the father of Ben : Per- ley, married the daughter of Allen Dodge, of Ham- ilton, Mass., and from her family came his name of Perley, of which be was proud, since his maternal ancestors were also of English descent, in direct line from Pierre Dodge, of Chester, whose name appears in the " Book of Heraldry " as rewarded with arms by Edward 1. for valiant services in 1306.

Colonel Poore resided, during his early married life, in the town of Newburyport, and it was there, in 1820, that his son Ben : Perley was born. He after- ward continued his mercantile business in the city of New York, and he sent his boy alone, at the age of seven years, to Newburyport to visit his relatives, as a test of his precocious self-reliance, and the journey was safely performed.

He afterwards removed to Indian Hill, and became devoted to rural pursuits, making his home a model farm.

He was repeatedly rewarded by the State for his zeal in agriculture and for his own importation of a breed of Short-horn cattle, which were carefully pre- served in their purity by his son, and they still adorn the pasture-land of the place.

He removed, with his family, to San Francisco, and was settled there in business; and, being sent as agent for establishing a line of steamers to Hong Kong, he was shipwrecked and drowned on the re- turn voyage.

Major Poore passed his youth at Indian Hill farm, where he also acquired a love of rural life, which never left him. His father was justly prond of him, and in 1831 he accompanied his parents to Europe, where he met many distinguished men of the day, including Walter Scott, in his home at Abbotsford, Thomas Moore and General Lafayette.

The impressions of that journey, made so early in life, were always stamped upon his memory and gave an impetus to his future career.

On his return home he entered Dummer Academy, in which institution he always took great interest, and a few years previous to his death delivered an historical address there upon the dedication of a new dormitory. After leaving there he went to Worces- ter, Mass., and studied the art of printing for two years, and, acquiring journalistic tastes, he subse- quently went to Athens, Ga., and became editor of the Southern Whig from 1838 to '40.

In 1841 he accompanied the Hon. H. W. Hilliard, Minister to Belgium, as an attache to the legation, and during his residence abroad he was the agent of the State of Massachusetts to obtain original histor- ical matter for the archives of the State. Ten large folio volumes testify to his industry, and are evi-

The grandfather of Major Poore was Daniel Noyes Poore, an eminent physician, who graduated at Har- "dences of his skill as a penman, in which he took 118

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

great pride, and his copy has been the joy of every compositor who has been called upon to compose the thousands of columns contributed by him to the public press.

After leaving the legation at Belgium, he went to Paris, by the advice of his father, to perfeet himself in the French language, with the intention of prac- ticing law in New Orleans, which project, however, he afterwards abandoned. He traveled in Greece, Asia, Palestine and Egypt, and made two visits to Constan- tinople, and while in the Holy Land he bathed in the Jordan, sat on the Mount of Olives and broke bread with the pilgrims within the gates of Jerusalem. He ;

He was clerk of the Committee on Foreign Affairs crossed the Great Desert of Sahara and lost one at- ; in the United States Senate, and was the trusted tendant during a siroceo. On arriving in Egypt he | friend of the committee generally, but was especially appreciated by Senator Charles Sumner, its chair- man.

was disappointed in not receiving an expected draft, and was almost without money. He was very anx- ious to visit the Nile and the Pyramids, and applied to a banker for assistance, explaining his position ; being a Free Mason and having an honest eounte- nanee, his appeal was heard, and an answer was promised that evening. The book of " English Her- akry " was consulted, and, finding his story true, there was no delay in advancing the required sum ; and on his return from the journey his draft from the Rothschilds was received, and matters were settled to the gratification of all parties.

He managed his travels so as to spend Holy Week in Rome, where he received the blessing of the Pope. Ile returned from Europe in 1847, and continued his connection with the Boston Atlas, and in the winter of that year commenced his career as a " Washington Correspondent " on that paper. In 1848 he entered warmly into the Presidential election, and published a life of General Zachary Taylor, the Whig candi- date, and was also editor of the Boston Bee.

In 1849 he was married in Georgetown, D. C., to the daughter of Francis Dodge (an uncle of his mother), who was a native of Hamilton, Mass.

In 1850 he edited the American Sentinel in Boston, through which he ventilated his passion for native Americanism, as he was intensely patriotic.

The care of a newspaper was irksome, but the cor- respondence was a delight; and his success on the Atlas led to greater fame on the Boston Journal.

From 1854 he resided in Washington during the sessions of Congress as correspondent of that paper ; and, having unlimited freedom in its columns, added much to its value and importance as an influential journal.

As an evidence of his passion for the art of print- ing, it may be mentioned that at his home he rejoiced in an amateur printing otlice, of somewhat preten- tious proportions; he was the owner of a Ramage press, with a stone bed and wooden platen,-four pulls to a sheet,-once worked by Benjamin Frank- lin, and he occasionally indulged in "jobs " that were not only creditable, but evineed the perfect com- positor and tasteful mechanic.

When he entered upon reporting the proceedings of Congress by telegraph, so that the news should be printed in Boston as early as in Washington, it was soon adopted nniversally in the larger cities, render- ing the Washington reporters a power in the land, and the senior member, Major Poore, was their chief.

Apart from the newspaper he also had a literary career. Soon after his return from France he pub- lished the " Rise and Fall of Louis Philippe" and the " Early Life of Louis Napoleon," and later he gave us the lives of Grant, Logan and Burnside.

They had many tastes in common, and the Major was always a welcome guest at his table, the invi- tations to which were generally written "Pot-luck at 6." There, on such occasions, while inspecting his rare volumes and curios, the Senator often remarked that he found Major Poore the most intelligent ap- preciator of his collection. At the last dinner eaten 1 by Mr. Sumner, Major Poore was one of the few per- sonal friends present, and late that evening he was hastily summoned to the bed-side of his friend, where he remained until the great statesman breathed his last. In 1878 he contributed to the National Review a paper on "Sumner's Place in History."

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 215

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