USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Saugus > History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts: including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscot, and Nahant > Part 52
USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Nahant > History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts: including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscot, and Nahant > Part 52
USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Lynnfield > History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts: including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscot, and Nahant > Part 52
USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Swampscott > History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts: including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscot, and Nahant > Part 52
USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Lynn > History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts: including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscot, and Nahant > Part 52
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V. JAMES. This, the second son of IV. Benjamin, being a magistrate, was long known as 'Squire Jim -(see under date 1781)-he married Lois Burrill, daughter of Ebenezer, called Esquire, and granddaughter of Hon. Ebenezer Burrill, 17 September, 1756, and had ten children, viz: Lois, born 9 July, 1757; Lydia, b. 21 August, 1759; Elizabeth, b. 23 June, 1761; James, b. 2 June, 1763; Martha, b. 25 February, 1765; Benjamin, b. 27 Feb- ruary, 1767; Joel, b. 14 May, 1769; Mary, b. 7 September, 1771; James again and Benjamin again, twins, b. 19 January, 1774- and these twins, the former of whom was uncle and the latter father of the writer lived to the respective ages of 80 and 83.
V. FARRAR, (or PHARAOH), the first son of IV. Samuel, born 15 February, 1735, married his cousin Theodate, daughter of Jabez Breed, of Nahant street, 24 April, 1764, and had six children, viz: Samuel, born 9 March, 1765; Abner, b. 24 September, 1767, and died in infancy ; Winthrop, b. 6 June, 1769; Ab- ner again, b. 19 July, 1771, who died unmarried at the age of thirty-two ; Syl- vanus, b. 18 July, 1773; Theodate, b. 6 February, 1776, who married Manuel Austin ; Francis, b. 23 September, 1778, who died at the age of nine.
V. DANIEL, born 4 February, 1741, son of IV. Samuel, and younger brother of Pharaoh, married Hannah Estes, and had four children, viz: Estes, born 9 September, 1770, and who died in 1857, at the age of eighty seven ; Deborah, b. 5 December, 1772, who died young; Lydia, b. 16 March, 1775; Daniel, b. 21 November, 1778.
V. JOSIAH, whose father's name was John, and which John was doubtless a grandson of II. Thomas, married Hannah Newhall, 24 December, 1740, and had thirteen children. viz: Daniel, b. 15 November, 1741; John, b. 29 October, 02*
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HISTORY OF LYNN.
1743; Josiah, b. 5 November, 1745; Hannah, b. 28 August, 1747; Lydia, b. 25 September, 1749; William, b. 22 May, 1751; Joel, b. 19 February, 1753; Nathaniel, b. 25 November, 1754; Micajah, b. 18 October, 1756; Jacob, b. 16 September, 1758; James, b. 26 May, 1760; Hannah, b. 30 July, 1762; Susan, b. 3 August, 1764, who married a Welman.
VI. SAMUEL, eldest son of V. Pharaoh, married Sarah Phillips and had seven children, viz: Thomas F., Phillips, Abner, Rebecca, Edward, Francis, and Theodate.
VI. WINTHROP, second son of V. Pharaoh, married Betsey Farrington, and had six children, viz : Francis S., Henry, Eliza, Sophia, Lydia, Horace.
VI. SYLVANUS, youngest son of V. Pharaoh, married Lydia, daughter of Ste- phen Gove, of Seabrook, N. H., and had five children, viz : Huldah B., Anne M., Mary, Daniel Wendall, and Abigail C.
VI. ESTES, eldest son of V. Daniel, was for some fifty years an elder of the Friends' meeting. He was twice married, his first wife being Hepsabeth Wing, and his second Miriam Philbrick. By his first wife he had children, Paul W. and Abba; by his second, two daughters who died young, and Joseph P.
VI. DANIEL, youngest son of V. Daniel, married Mary, daughter of John Bailey, of Hanover, Mass., and had seven children, viz : John B., George, Hep- sabeth, Joseph, Isaac, Mary, Lucy.
VI. WILLIAM, son of V. Josiah, married Martha Mansfield, 2 September, 1773, and had ten children, viz: Mary, born 22 May, 1774 ; Martha, b. 28 Jan- uary, 1778; Hannah, b. 6 September, 1780; Elizabeth, b. 31 August, 1782; Nathaniel, b. 18 July, 1784; William, b. 3 August, 1786; Robert, b. 17 Feb- ruary, 1788; Josiah, b. 7 January, 1790; Sally, b. 17 January, 1792; Frederic, b. 1 August, 1795.
VI. JOEL, born 19 February, 1753, also son of V. Josiah, married Lucy Mansfield, 24 December, 1778, and had nine children, viz: Joel, b. 12 October, 1779; Isaac, b. 24 August, 1782; Samuel, b. 6 March, 1785; Cheever, b. 13 March, 1788; Lucy, b. 4 April, 1790; George, b. 10 August, 1792: Edward, b. 9 December, 1795; Horatio ; John M.
VI. MICAJAH, born 18 October, 1756, likewise son of V. Josiah, married Joana Farrington, 10 June, 1779, and had twelve children, viz: Josiah, b. 10 November, 1780; Nathaniel, b. 2 July, 1782; Micajah, b. 25 July, 1784; Paul, b. 17 February, 1786; Otis, b. 6 January, 1788; Sarah, b. 17 August, 1789; Ellis, b. 17 August, 1791, who died in infancy ; Ellis again, b. 7 March, 1793; Joana, b. 8 February, 1795; Hannah, b. 8 April, 1797; Susanna, b. 25 October, 1799; William, b. 13 January, 1802, who died in infancy.
The way is now prepared to give the lineage of certain indi- viduals of the Newhall family at present among us.
Aaron Newhall-dealer in coal and wood, south end of Market street, was son of Aaron, who was born 9 November, 1777, and was son of Aaron, who was son of IV. Benjamin, who was son of III. Joseph, who was son of . II. Thomas.
Abner Newhall -who resides on Newhall street, was son of VI. Samuel,
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - THOMAS NEWHALL.
who was son of V. Farrar, (Pharaoh,) who was son of IV. Samuel, who was son of III. Joseph, who was son of II. Thomas.
Daniel Wendall Newhall-who lives on Broad street, opposite Ex- change, was son of Sylvanus, who was son of V. Pharaoh, who was son of IV. Samuel, who was son of III. Joseph, who was son of II. Thomas.
Harrison Newhall-shoe manufacturer, at the east end of the Common, was son of Josiah, who was son of VI. William, who was son of V. Josiah, who was son of John, of whom, in consequence of the difficulty of identifying him among several of the name, I shall venture to assert nothing further than that he was a grandson of II. Thomas.
Henry Newhall-president of Laighton Bank, was son of VI. Winthrop, who was son of V. Pharaoh, who was son of IV. Samuel, who was son of III. Joseph, who was son of II. Thomas.
Isaac Newhall -- shoe manufacturer, residence near corner of Chatham and Marianna streets, was son of VI. Daniel, who was son of V. Daniel, who was son of IV. Samuel, who was son of III. Joseph, who was son of II. Thomas.
James R. Newhall-whose name appears in the title page of this volume, was son of Benjamin, who was son of V. James, who was son of IV. Benja- min, who was son of III. Joseph, who was son of II. Thomas.
John M. Newhall-shoe manufacturer, on Union street, was son of VI.
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Joel, who was son of V. Josiah, who was son of John, who was grandson
of II. Thomas. See remark under "Harrison Newhall.".
Joseph P. Newhall-shoe manufacturer, Exchange street, was son of VI. Estes, who was son of V. Daniel, who was son of IV. Samuel, who was son of III. Joseph, who was son of II. Thomas.
Josiah Newhall, (Gen. of Lynnfield)- was son of Jacob, who was son of V. Josiah, who was son of John, who was grandson of II. Thomas. See remark under "Harrison Newhall."
Otis Newhall-superintendent of Pine Grove Cemetery, was son of Allen, who was born 6 March, 1771, and was son of Hanson, who married Hepsa- beth Breed, 6 February, 1766, and was son of Joseph, born in 1715, who was son of Joseph, who was son of III. Joseph, who was son of II. Thomas.
Paul Newhall-shoe manufacturer, South Common street, was son of VI. Micajah, who was son of V. Josiah, who was son of John, who was grandson of II. Thomas. See remark under "Harrison Newhall."
Thomas B. Newhall-Justice of Lynn Police Court, was a son of Asa T., of Lynnfield, who was born 28 June, 1779, and was son of Asa, who was born 5 August, 1732, and was son of Thomas, who was son of III. Joseph, who was son of II. Thomas.
William M. Newhall-dealer in hard ware, in Exchange Building, Mar- ket street, was son of Jacob, of Saugus, who was born 1 November, 1780, and married Abigail Makepeace, 22 September, 1801, and was son of Jacob, known as Landlord Newhall, born 3 May, 1740, who was son of Locker, born 12 November, 1708, and was son of Jacob, born 27 March, 1686. who was grandson of II. Thomas.
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HISTORY OF LYNN.
The foregoing is perhaps sufficient to enable any one of the family to trace his own pedigree, as it is hardly probable that any can be found who do not claim near relationship to some one at least of those named. The perplexities in preparing the list were great, and the navigation among the many Jameses, Johns, Josephs, and Thomases, particularly difficult. Double names began commonly to be used about the beginning of the present century.' My grandfather, who died in 1800, had ten children, not one of whom had a middle name. And my father, who was born in 1774, had nine children, not one of whom was destitute of a middle name. And this leads to a remark con- cerning the bestowal of nicknames, which has been considered an evil habit of our fathers. But the custom arose rather from necessity. At one period there were eight persons here of the name of James Newhall, not one of whom had a middle name. They were therefore distinguished as 'Squire Jim, Phthisicy Jim, Silver Jim, Bully Jim, Increase Jim, President Jim, Na- than's Jim, and Doctor Jim. 'Squire Jim received his appella- tion from the circumstance of his holding a magistrate's commis- sion. Phthisicy Jim was afflicted with the disease indicated by the name. And probably the other nicknames arose from similarly adventitious circumstances. While, however, we ad- mit the necessity for distinguishing appellations, it must be granted that the nicknames were often more expressive than elegant.
It is not easy to attain entire correctness in dates of births, marriages, and deaths, so loosely were most of the records for- merly kept. And there are constant disagreements between public and private records. I have usually, in cases of doubt, followed the public, for the private, though often found in the Bible, experience has shown to be most frequently erroneous. Many disagreements occur from an intermixture of the old and new styles, some using one, some the other, and some both, indiscriminately. Intermarriages between those of the same surname likewise occasionally intervene, to enhance the per- plexity.
But our remarks must be drawn to a close. As before ob- served, no striking events appear in the life of Mr. Newhall, the subject of this sketch; yet, inasmuch as he was the first
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - JOHN BURRILL.
person of European parentage born within our borders, and was, withal, the ancestor of such a goodly family, he was worthy of the first place. Could he return, and sound the multitude who sprang from his loins, of which of us would he have cause to be proud, and of which ashamed? I can think of nothing that would be more likely to astonish him than the diversity in reli- gious profession. Even among the small number of those now living, who have been named, he would find the Unitarian, the Universalist, the Methodist, the Quaker, the Episcopalian; and the Congregationalist of his own order, with doctrines far more temperate than harsh Shepard or even placid Whiting taught. <
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JOHN BURRILL. - 1658-1721.
The individual whose name is placed above, was one of the most eminent men in the colony, for many years. He was born at Lynn, on the 18th of November, 1658, and was the eldest son of John Burrill, distinguished as Lieutenant John, who was a son of George Burrill, who came to Lynn in 1630. See page 115.
Mr. Burrill lived on the south side of Boston street, on the western slope of Tower Hill. On the 28th of July, 1680, a few months before he arrived at the age of twenty-two, he married Mary Stowers, of Chelsea. Mr. Lewis says, " He gained a reputation which few men who have since filled his stations, have surpassed. The purity of his character and the integrity of his life, secured to him the warmest friendship of his acquaint- ance, and the unlimited confidence of his native town. He was affable in his manners, and uniformly prudent in his conduct. His disposition was of the most charitable kind, and his spirit regulated by the most guarded temperance. He willingly con- tinued in the House many years, when he might have been raised to a more elevated office ; and his thorough acquaintance with the forms of legislation, the dignity of his deportment, and the order which he maintained in debate, gave to him a respect and an influence, which probably no other Speaker of the House ever obtained. Governor Hutchinson, in his History of Massa- chusetts, compares him to the celebrated William Pitt, Speaker of the English House of Commons."
This is an honest tribute to a really valuable character. But
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HISTORY OF LYNN.
it is not easy to see what induced Mr. Lewis to give Pitt as the Speaker to whom Hutchinson compared Mr. Burrill. The Gov- ernor does not give a name, but simply refers to the individual as "the right honorable person who so many years filled the chair of the House of Commons with such applause." Did Pitt ever fill the chair with applause ? He was eminent as a states- man, but not as a presiding officer. The "right honorable " alluded to was undoubtedly Sir Arthur Onslow, who had the reputation of being the most accomplished Speaker the House ever had. The following extract from a letter of Hon. Timothy Pickering, dated Washington City; 28 February, 1809, and ad- dressed to Ebenezer Burrill, at New York, is sufficient on this point. And it will be perceived that the distinguished writer of the letter himself alludes to his relationship to the Lynn Burrills. ... "I received, last evening, your favor of the 25th. If you are from Lynn, in Massachusetts, no doubt we are, on one side descended from the same stock. My paternal grand- mother was Sarah Burrill, whose brothers were: 1st. John, of whom Governor Hutchinson, in his History of Massachusetts, takes distinguished notice ; he was Speaker of the House of Representatives, and is compared with the celebrated Sir Arthur Onslow, the most eminent Speaker of the House of Commons. 2d. Theophilus, who, I believe, had no children. 3d. Ebenezer, from whom you may be lineally descended." Besides the three brothers named by Mr. Pickering, there were Thomas and Samuel.
Mr. Burrill was a Representative in the General Court, for twenty-two years, was Speaker of the House ten years, and Counsellor in 1720, remaining in the office till his death. He was also Town Clerk thirty-one years. These facts are quite sufficient to show that the public had an abiding confidence in his ability and integrity. He was likewise a man whose advice and assistance was much sought for among his neighbors. He was ever ready to counsel, and, if need be, assist in a more sub- stantial way, as he was blessed with considerable means.
He died of the small-pox, on the 10th of December, 1721, leaving no children. His grave stone may still be seen in the Old Burying Ground near the west end of the Common; and it bears these lines :
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - JOHN BURRILL.
Alas! our patron 's dead! The country - court - The church -in tears, all echo the report ; Grieved that no piety, no mastering sense, No counsel, gravity, no eloquence,
No generous temper, gravitating to Those honors, which they did upon him throw, Could stay his fate, or their dear Burrill save
From a contagious sickness, and the grave.
The adjacent towns this loss reluctant bear, But widowed Lynn sustains the greatest share ;
Yet joys in being guardian of his dust Until the resurrection of the just.
The Boston News Letter of Monday, December 18, 1721, contained the following notice, under date Lynn, December 11 : " The last night the Honorable John Burrill, Esq., one of His Majesty's Council and one of the Judges of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for the County of Essex, died of the small-pox, in the sixty-second year of his age. He had been for many years Speaker of the House of Representatives, and behaved himself in that chair with great integrity, modesty, and skill ; having a just and equal regard to the honor of the government and the liberty of the people; so that he was highly esteemed and beloved by both. He was a man of true and exemplary piety and virtue, endowed with a very clear understanding, solid judgment, and sound discretion. And God made him a great blessing not only to his town and county, but to the whole province. Isaiah iii. 1: 'For behold, the Lord God of hosts doth take away from Judah the stay and the staff - the judge - and the prudent - the honorable -and the counsellor.'"
Hutchinson graphically observes that the House were as fond of Mr. Burrill "as of their eyes." And he adds, in a note, " I have often heard his cotemporaries applaud him for his great integrity, his acquaintance with parliamentary forms, the dignity and authority with which he filled the chair, the order and de- corum ne maintained in the debates of the House, his self-denial in remaining in the House, from year to year, when he might have been chosen into the Council, and saw others, who called him their father, sent there before him." And then follows the comparison with "the right honorable person," before al- luded to.
Mr. Burrill was an active member of the old church of Lynn.
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HISTORY OF LYNN.
His early years were passed under the teachings of the godly Whiting, and through the long pastorate of Mr. Shepard, his serene presence adorned the sanctuary. He was liberal in his contributions ; and in his will, made four days before his death, occurs this item : "I give and bequeath to the Church of Christ in Lynn, forty pounds towards ye furnishing of ye table of the Lord." And upon several articles of the consecrated plate may be seen engraved the Burrill coat-of-arms; rather an ostenta- tious display, to be sure, but one for which the deceased donor is not to be held responsible.
EBENEZER BURRILL. - 1679-1761.
This Mr. Burrill was a younger brother of "the beloved Speaker," was quite eminent in his day, and distinguished as Honorable Ebenezer. He was born at Lynn, on the 13th of July, 1679, was a son of John Burrill, known as Lieutenant John, who was a son of George Burrill, the first of the name who settled here, and who came in 1630.
Mr. Burrill married Martha Farrington, and settled at Swamp-
- scot, on an estate given him by his father. The house in which he lived is still standing, on the beautiful grounds of E. R. Mudge, Esq., a few rods from his stone villa. And the writer may be pardoned for remarking that his inquiries regarding the Burrill family have been somewhat minute, partly from an indi- vidual pleasure in tracing family connections, as both his grand- mothers were granddaughters of the subject of this sketch - one a daughter of his son Ebenezer, and the other a daughter of his son Samuel.
Mr. Burrill had ten children, viz : Ebenezer, (called Esquire,) born 6 February, 1702, who married Mary, daughter of General Mansfield, and had eleven children ; John, b. 24 February, 1705 ; Martha, b. 21 April, 1707; Theophilus, born 21 May, 1709 ; Mary, b. 31 July, 1711; Eunice, b. 27 October, 1713; Lois, b. 7 Au- gust, 1715; Samuel, b. 1 April, 1717; Sarah, b. 15 April, 1719; Lydia, b. 25 February, 1721.
It would be interesting to follow somewhat at large the family connections of Mr. Burrill, did space permit. It was his sister Sarah, who married John Pickering of Salem, and became grand-
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. - EBENEZER BURRILL.
mother of Hon. Timothy Pickering. His son Ebenezer, distin- guished as Ebenezer, Esquire, was Town Clerk seventeen years, and a Representative twelve; he, the son, lived in the house still standing at the northeast corner of Boston and Federal streets, and there, it is related, on one occasion, had the honor of the Governor's presence at dinner, while a couple of iron cannon, on Water Hill, continued to belch forth their respects. His son Samuel was a Representative during the Revolution, and a member of the Convention for forming the State Consti- tution. His grandson James, son of Ebenezer, Esquire, while a young man set up business as a tin-plate worker at Providence, R. I., became a prominent citizen, and was one of the original members of the Providence Association of Mechanics and Man- ufacturers, an association which still continues to flourish, and was chosen its president, in 1797, holding the office till 1809. He likewise represented Providence in the General Assembly, in 1797. And this James was father of the Hon. James Burrill, who was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, in 1816, and who was soon afterward distinguished as a United States Senator for that state, dying at Washington, on Christmas-day, 1820. Joseph, another son of Ebenezer, Esquire, and grandson of the subject of this sketch, settled at Newport, R. I. He was a tin-plate worker, and it was of him that his brother James learned his trade preparatory to commencing business for himself at Providence. And the family of this Jo- seph was one of great respectability. The wife of Hon. Henry Wheaton, LL. D., was a granddaughter of his. One or two of the leading Salem families were connected with the Burrills, who were facetiously styled the royal family of Lynn. Micajah Burrill, who resided on Essex street, and died near the close of 1863, having been buried on the 10th of December, the very day on which he would have entered his hundredth year, was a grandson of Theophilus, the third son of the patriarch whom this sketch commemorates.
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Mr. Burrill died on the 6th of September, 1761. The inscrip- tion on his modest grave-stone is unassuming, compared with many on the tablets of that day, which are too often airy and high-sounding. But the dead should not be held responsible for the falsehoods and absurdities that are written above them.
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HISTORY OF LYNN.
He was a man remarkable for sound judgment, benevolence, and activity in all useful enterprises, was six times chosen Representative, and was a Counsellor in 1731 and 1746. In 1732 he was entrusted with the settlement of important busi- ness with the Indians at Casco Bay. He possessed a large estate in lands, and was able to provide well for his numerous family. The inventory of his estate indicates that he lived in very respectable style, and among his personal property may be found enumerated one Negro. Slave, named Cesar.
In looking up the facts regarding the Burrills, I found that many of the family themselves had but a confused idea of their ancestry - a kind of confusion, however, by no means peculiar to this family - arising, perhaps, in a great measure, from the intermingling of names. A recapitulatory line or two may, hence, be given. Lieutenant John, or John, senior, was the first Burrill born in Lynn, and was a son of George, the early settler. Honorable John, or John, junior, and Honorable Ebenezer, (the subject of this sketch,) were brothers, and sons of Lieut. John. Ebenezer, Esquire, was a son of Hon. Ebenezer. ... George, Lieut. John, and Hon. John lived at Tower Hill; Hon. Ebene- zer lived at Swampscot; Ebenezer, Esq. lived on Boston street, corner of Federal. . .. James, who settled in Rhode Island, and was father of the United States Senator, was a son of Ebe- nezer, Esq. John, another son of Ebenezer, Esq., was father of Ebenezer who settled in New York, and died there in 1839, and whose body, in accordance with his dying request, was brought to Lynn and buried in our Old Burying Ground; he, the last named John, was also father of Thompson, who died here in 1842. The grave-stones of these worthies together with those of several other old members of the family, may be found in the southeastern part of the burial place just named.
Considering what has been said in this brief sketch regarding family connections, a single remark, of a general nature, in clos- ing, may not be inappropriate. How few realize the important effect of marriage upon the destinies of a family, much less its effect upon the destinies of mankind. The greatest results, social, political, and religious, flow from the quiet operation of the matrimonial connection. In the history of the world may be found instance on instance wherein the union of a young
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. - JACOB NEWHALL.
man and young woman has accomplished momentous results, results which years and years of war and bloodshed could not effect. The genius of marriage is democratic; it favors no conventional distinctions ; but through the most thorough ming- ling of classes works out the happiest results. It was long since remarked in the French Academy that when a nation is on the decline; its strength and energy are to be found in the lower classes; and a true remark it was. The jaded mental faculties of the higher and educated class, need the physical stamina and latent mental power of the unpampered hewer of wood and drawer of water. And the doom of a nation is sealed if God's great laws for the government of his human family are disregarded.
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JACOB NEWHALL. - 1740-1816.
This worthy member of one of our oldest families was for many years extensively and favorably known as Landlord Newhall. He was born in that part of Lynn now constituting Saugus, on the third of May, 1740, and was the son of Locker, a lineal descendant of Thomas Newhall, the first white person born in Lynn.
A part of the early manhood of Mr. Newhall was spent in Cambridge, where he pursued the occupation of a husbandman, to which he was bred. But in or about the year 1774, he be- came proprietor of the celebrated tavern which stood on the old Boston road, a short distance west of Saugus river. This tavern was commenced at a very early period, and at one time flourished under the sign of an anchor, painted in blue, with the inscription "Blew Anchor." Many interesting facts con- cerning its history may be found in this volume. He succeeded Josiah Martin, a very eccentric individual, of whom something is said under date 1782, and who by his irregularities had some- what damaged the reputation of the house; but who, though alleged to be an Englishman, being providentially seized by a burning desire to serve the country, enlisted and went off to the war, from which he never returned.
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