USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Saugus > History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts: including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscott, and Nahant, 1864-1890 > Part 16
USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Swampscott > History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts: including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscott, and Nahant, 1864-1890 > Part 16
USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Lynnfield > History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts: including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscott, and Nahant, 1864-1890 > Part 16
USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Nahant > History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts: including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscott, and Nahant, 1864-1890 > Part 16
USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Lynn > History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts: including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscott, and Nahant, 1864-1890 > Part 16
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Mr. Jenks was ancestor of a rather remarkable line. Joseph Jenks, Governor of Rhode Island from 1727 to 1732, and who was not only applauded for his executive ability but renowned for his personal appearance, being seven feet and two inches tall, was a grandson of his. The late Rev. Dr. William Jenks, an eminent scholar and author, was likewise a lineal descendant. See Annals, 1662, and other early dates.
JOHNSON, CALEB. Mr. Johnson is well entitled to be called one of the patriarchs of Nahant - Nahant, that charming "little dukedom," which so warmed the imagination of Secretary Ran-
1 60
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Johnson.
dolph, some two hundred years ago, and inflamed his thirst for its possession. He was born in that section of old Lynn, in December, 1778, and there passed his whole life, with the excep- tion of two years, which he spent in another part of the town, as an apprentice at the trade of shoemaking ; and there he died, in 1867. At the time of his birth there were but three houses on Nahant, and no other house was erected there, till he had attained the age of twenty-two, at which time Capt. Joseph John- son built a large house on the western part, which was kept as a hotel, and which was destroyed by fire, on Sunday morning, August 28, 1803.
Years passed on, and Mr. Johnson remained in the seclusion of his peninsular home, now and then, during the warm season, entertaining individuals or parties who resorted thither for health or recreation, occupying himself chiefly in farming and fishing, by which he gained an ample livelihood.
By-and-by Mr. Tudor and other gentlemen of taste and culture, appreciating the delights of the place, went thither for summer sojourn, and a refined society accumulated. By the rise in the value of lands Mr. Johnson became comparatively wealthy ; and being surrounded by a promising family, possessing a social disposition, and uncommonly good health, he had many sources of enjoyment. In 1791 he married Olive Hartwell, of Charle- mont, and by her had ten children -seven sons and three daughters. His sixth son, William Frederic, was Mayor of Lynn in 1858, and a Senator in 1862 and '63.
JOHNSON, OTIS. Mr. Johnson was a son of Enoch Johnson, by his wife Elizabeth Newhall, and was born in Lynn, in 1802. At the early age of sixteen he left his native place for Petersburg, Va., where he remained till 1820, when he removed to Savannah, Ga. ; and there, by diligence and enterprise was able, by middle life, to accumulate a moderate fortune. His business at the south was successfully continued till 1860, when he returned to his native place for permanent residence. In the mean time, however, he had erected a fine mansion on the westerly side of Federal street, and embellished the grounds with rare flowers, and other tasteful adornments. And every season he busied himself with various experiments in the pleasant and instructive
oliver.
OTIS JOHNSON MANSION, LYNN.
THE above represents the beautiful residence of the late OTIS JOHNSON, EsQ., erected by him in 1831, and was one of the finest of the period. It stood on the westerly side of Federal street, and was removed to Mall street, in 1889, giving place to buildings of the Electric Works. See page 160.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Johnson. 161
mysteries of horticulture. He did much to foster a taste for decorative gardening and the raising of choice fruit ; and for his highly beneficial influence in that direction is certainly worthy of being long remembered. He was not ambitious of the ephem- eral distinction conferred by public office, though he held posi- tions of trust and responsibility ; among them that of director in the City Bank, from the time of its establishment, in 1854, till his death.
In 1824 Mr. Johnson married, at Savannah, Miss Virginia, daughter of Capt. R. G. Taylor, and by her had ten children, four only of whom survived him. He met death, with Christian serenity, at his residence, in Federal street, on the 17th of Feb- ruary, 1870, aged 68, and was mourned for as a man of kindly sympathies, unswerving integrity, and a good citizen. His widow died on the 5th of February, 1881, aged 78.
JOHNSON, RICHARD. Mr. Johnson was ancestor of the large and worthy family of the name still among us. His homestead estate was at the east end of the Common, and included the site of the present City Hall, together with a number of acres in and about Johnson street, a thoroughfare that perpetuates his name. His eldest son, Samuel, who was born in 1640, and died in 1723, and whose gravestone, though in a dilapidated condition, still remains in the Old Burying Ground, was known as Lieutenant, and earlier as Cornet Johnson. He and his brother Daniel served in the King Philip war, 1676, and both joined in the petition for remuneration presented in 1685. His name likewise appears as one of the official grantees in the Indian deed of Lynn, executed in 1686. The house which he, Samuel, built was a sort of semi- garrison, to which the neighbors might flee in case of any savage demonstration, and will be remembered by many now living as having stood where the present brick house of worship of the First Methodist Society now stands, on the northeast side of Park square.
Nothing more than a glance at our pages of Annals will be needed to show that the Johnson family has all along presented examples of high character and great usefulness. The autograph of the patriarchal settler, Richard, appears on the Armitage Petition, page 106. See Annals, 1635 and other dates.
II
162
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Keene. Keyser. King.
JOHNSON, WILLIAM F .- seventh Mayor of Lynn - born on Nahant, July 30, 1819. For notice, with portrait, see Centennial Memorial. A fac-simile of his signature is here given.
MF. Johnson
KEENE, Avis-a preacher in the Friends' Meeting, some sixty years. She died Oct. 13, 1867, aged 87. See Annals, 1867.
KEENE, GEORGE W. - a conspicuous business man and active in public enterprises. He died March 27, 1874, ared 58. See Annals, 1874.
KIRTLAND, PHILIP- the first shoemaker here. His name appears on the Armitage Petition, page 106. See Annals, 1635.
KEYSER, GEORGE-a tanner -called by Mr. Lewis a miller ; perhaps he followed both occupations. His autograph is on the Armitage Petition, page 106. See Annals, 1630. It was in Mr. Keyser's tan-pit that a child of Thomas Newhall was drowned in 1665 " We Robart Potter and John Newhall : understandin by Too Testimonies," say a couple of witnesses in the case, " That Thomas Newhalls chilld was drounded in a pett which pett we heard George Keesar saye he digged : farther we doe Testifie that George Keser had a Tanfatt in that pett. I John Newhall doe furder Testifie that George Keyser did take up his fatt and left the pett open." This tan-pit was on the south side of Boston street, about where the tubular wells were driven, in 1880.
KING, DANIEL. By referring to our Annals, of carly dates, various facts may be found concerning the King family, who were located chiefly about Swampscott, though they owned lands in other quarters. King's Beach perpetuates the name. They were an enterprising family, and in addition to farming and fishing, carried on a varied sort of commercial business, their traffic extending even to Barbadocs. Papers are yet to be found among our Essex County files, indicating to some extent the
163
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. King.
nature and course of their trade. In a memorandum dated May 6, 1653, Daniel King, jr. says : " I have Rec. of my cosen William Guy [of London] a parcell of goods amounting to the valew of fforty ffive pounds, ffourteene shillings nine pence starling money, which goods I have Rec : upon the account of Guy as an Ad- venture by him promising to doe my outmost indeuor for the sale of the aforesaid goods, and to make him returns by Chris- mas next, if," &c. But such "ifs" seem to have intervened that a settlement was long delayed, and the matter finally got into court. Five years after, that is, in 1658, his father, Daniel King, makes the following statement : "Boston, this 14 of Au- gust, 1658. These presents Witnes that I, Daniell King of Lyn, Sener, doe aknowledge that Capt. Jnº Peirce, Commander of the Ship Exchang, hath bene with mee and demanded of mee a debt of aboutt forty frue pounds which my sone Daniell 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 then I can judge will Ballance that acco. And I hope either by this time or very sudenly hee will Returne 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 earr to lett you under stand that yours wee have receued, Return you Manny thanks for your patiente lines But being much troubled that wee yett cannot Answer your ends According to your expectations. Many ways wee have tryed, By Barbudoes, By Bills of Exchange, & By getting of Bever, for you, But as yet cannot proceure anny of them. But By the next shepping I hoape wee shall find out some way or other whereby you shall haue sattisfacktion ; my sonn Ralph & my sonn Blaenny douth Intend if pleas god the liue and doe well to com for England ; soe hoaping that you will bee pleased to Ad one mitt of patience unto your Aboundance which you have had soe.
" Resting and Remaining your Ever Loueing
Ante tell Death,
ELIZABETH KING."
164 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Laughton. Leonard. Lewis.
The " sonn Ralph " was successful in his business, and accu- mulated quite a property for those times. The inventory of his estate, taken July 8, 1689, by Rev. Mr. Shepard, William Bas- sett, and John Ballard, gives an amount of £2365 4s. The inventory of the estate of Daniel King, senior, who died May 28, 1672, gives an amount of £1528 9s.
Ralph King's name appears first among the grantees in the Indian deed of Lynn.
A. ITREDGE, Dr. EDWARD A. - a physician and humorous writer. He died in Newton, Feb. 25, 1869, aged 58. See An- nals, 1869.
LAUGHTON, THOMAS. The name of this prominent settler, like the names of many others, was in old times spelled in various ways. He was elected Town Clerk in 1672, and remained in the office several years ; was likewise a Selectman for a number of years, and a Representative some ten. He held several other responsible offices ; was a farmer, and lived on Franklin street. Laighton street took its name from him. See Annals, 1635, and other early dates. His name is on the Armitage Petition ; and a fac-simile, taken from a signature of his made in 1668, follows.
Thomas Laughton
LEONARD, HENRY and JAMES. These brothers were connected with the ancient iron works on Saugus river, and became prom- inent in the iron manufacture of New England. See Annals, 1642.
LEWIS, ALONZO. A pretty full biographical sketch of Mr. Lewis the bard and historian, may be found in the 1865 edition of our History of Lynn. And in the Centennial Memorial a shorter sketch, with a portrait, may be found. It has been stated that Mr. Lewis, on one or two occasions, in early life, left his native place to seek his fortune elsewhere. His strong natural attachment to his home, however, always prevailed, and after a brief absence he was soon again among us. In 1832, at the age of 38, he removed with the determination, undoubtedly, to permanently reside abroad ; and the writer well remembers
165
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Lewis.
his emotion as he handed him the following touching lines for publication. But after an absence of a few months we were again favored by his presence ; and it is not recollected that he had, during the remainder of his life, any disposition to withdraw from the attractive scenes of his native place, its sunny hills and silvery streams, or to pitch his tent on any spot where the sound of old Ocean's harp could not be heard. We have always been impressed with the belief that the fourth stanza was founded on a singularly false apprehension, arising in an extremely sensitive mind. He had friends ; strong and loving friends ; and no real foes ; though there were those who could not avoid sometimes expressing annoyance at eccentricities which occasionally could hardly be called unobtrusive.
THE BARD'S FAREWELL.
Farewell ye streams, ye dear loved streams, Where I in childhood played, Upon whose marge my youthful dreams Have blest the peaceful shade. No more to hear your rippling song Shall I delighted bend, Nor with the loved your banks along In twilight converse wend.
Farewell ye hills whose dewy brow These early feet have kist While silent ocean lay below Half hid in sleeping mist. Your sunny tops at distance far These anxious eyes may view, But never shall the morning star Our vanished joys renew.
Ye early friends, to whom this heart Affection long has bound, The day has come when we must part, And share affection's wound. Your hopes o'er other joys may bloom, Your hearts with friendship swell ; But mine shall give no other room To aught, except - farewell !
And ye, without a cause my foes, As o'er life's waves I glide, May haply think upon the woes With which ye swelled the tide ;
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Lewis.
The injured heart that would have died Your slightest griefs to quell,
Shall breathe from out its bleeding side Forgiveness - and farewell.
As when the purple ocean flower From off its rock is torn,
Submissive to the tempest's power, By which 'tis onward borne,
So shall my heart sustain the storm Its hopes in vain would quell,
And dying, breathe in accents warm, My friends - my home - farewell !
No extended notice of Mr. Lewis is required here, as the sketches already referred to will furnish sufficient information to meet all ordinary inquiries. But no more appropriate place will be found for the introduction of a pictorial view of the house in which he was born. It still stands on the north side of Boston street, nearly opposite Bridge. The writer well remembers it for at least sixty-five years, during which time the exterior has been a little modernized about the door-way, and the blinds have been added. The fence, likewise, is somewhat more artistic than the one Mr. Lewis built with his own hands, some forty years ago. We seem now to see him sitting in that door-way, just as he sat three score years since, in " contemplative mood," enjoying the cool of a summer morning, as we went whistling along towards the cow pasture.
BIRTHPLACE OF ALONZO LEWIS.
Mr. Lewis was born on the 28th of August, 1794, and died on the 21st of January, 1861. And it may be of interest here to
167
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Lightfoot. Longley.
reproduce a picture of the sea-side cottage in which he died, though it appears in our 1865 edition.
COTTAGE IN WHICH MR. LEWIS DIED.
Mr. Lewis was a fine penman, and somewhat ornate in his signature, as the appended fac-simile shows.
Monto Liwas penis.
LEWIS, JACOB M. - the fourteenth Mayor of Lynn. He is a native of the place, was born on the 13th of October, 1823, and served in the mayoralty four terms. For biographical sketch, with portrait, see Centennial Memorial. A fac-simile of his signature is here given.
Jacob Me. Lewis
LIGHTFOOT, FRANCIS - whose autograph appears upon the Armitage Petition, page 106, was a man of small means, but respectable character. He died in 1646. See Annals, 1635.
LONGLEY, WILLIAM. This was no doubt the same individual who figured so strangely in the land claim spoken of in our An- nals, under date 1638; and his name is on the Armitage Petition. The Longleys seem to have been often at war with their neigh- bors on account of land claims. Thomas Newhall, so often
168
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Longley.
alluded to as the first white person born in Lynn, and who from all that appears was far from being of a quarrelsome disposition, was prosecuted in 1663 for assault and battery committed on the wife of this William Longley while assisting in running a land line. Among other evidence in the case was the following : " The testimony of Elizabeth Newhall ye wife of John Senier, and Mary Haven whoe sayth y' Thomas Newhall Junier was desiered for to howld a poole for to rone a line between Will Longley and John Newhall : ye sayd Thomas Newhall stode on ve land of John Newhalls : then came ye two dafters of ye sayd Longley ; namely Mary Longley & Anna Longley and threue stons at ye sayd Thomas Newhall ; afterwards y sayd Anna toke up a peace of a pulle & stroke ye sayd Newhall severall blows with it, & presently after ye wife of ye say Longley came with a broad axe in hir hand and cam to ye say' Newhall and violently stroke at ye sayd Newhall with ye axe, but ye sayd Newhall shiped aside & soe ye axe mised him ; o'wise wee cannot but thinke but y' hee had bine much wounded if not killed : then presently after ye wife of Will Longley laid howld upone ye poole with hir two dafters to pull ye poole away from ye sayd Newhall : but ye sayd Newhall pulled ye poole from ym. All this time ye sayd Thomas Newhall did stand upon ye land of John Newhalls. Taken upon oath, 28 1 ** ' '63." The Longleys, in their version, of course gave the affair a different coloring. They testified that Newhall was on one side of their orchard fence, and they on the other ; that they were striving to get the pole from him, all having hold of it ; and one of the daughters goes on to say, "wee had almost pulled the poole out of his hands but his brother John came and helped him and pulled it from us, and after the said Newhall had got the poole again he strucke my mother seueral blows with the poole so that one of her hands was black and blue severall dayes after." It must have been quite a spirited scene there at the orchard fence - the brothers Thomas and John in fierce combat with the sisters Anna and Mary, supported by their belligerent mother. And attention need not be called to the fact made apparent by this historical scrap, that then petty neighborhood quarrels, with their exaggerated details and strife-engendering tendencies furnished the same sort of unwholesome food for the inferior courts that they do in our day.
169
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Lovering. Lummus.
LOVERING, HENRY B. - the seventeenth Mayor of Lynn - was born in Portsmouth, N. H. April 8, 1841. He was inaugurated January 3d, 1881, and so satisfactorily performed the duties of the office that in December he was elected for a second term. He has been for nearly the whole of his business life connected in some way with the manufacture of shoes. And that he is deemed a citizen of ability and trustworthiness is sufficiently apparent from the responsible positions he has been called to fill. On the 25th of December, 1865, he was united in marriage with Abbie J., a daughter of Harrison Clifford, and has four children. During the civil war he served in the Union army twenty-six months. While attached to the Third Massachusetts Cavalry, under Gen. Sheridan, he had the misfortune to lose a leg, at the battle of Winchester. A fac-simile of his autograph is here given.
2,
LUMMUS, Dr. AARON - a skillful physician, who was in prac- tice here nearly fifty years. He lived on Market street, and Tremont street was opened through his orchard. He died Jan. 5, 1831, aged 74. See Annals, 1831.
LUMMUS, AARON - familiarly known as " Judge Lummus" - was a son of Dr. Aaron just named, and his title " Judge," arose from his having long presided as a police magistrate. He was grave and deliberate in the examination of causes, but not over cautious in preventing the accumulation of small cases. His occupation as a trial justice was superseded by the establishment of the Police Court, in 1849. He was a Methodist minister before assuming the judicial office, and besides preaching was at times connected with denominational publications. He wrote consid- erable, but his writings, as a general thing, were didactic and better calculated to instruct than interest. As a preacher he was sound in doctrine, but not eminent in the way of oratory. We remember hearing his brother, Charles F., who will come next
170
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Lummus. Mansfield.
under notice, in his quaint way remark: "Well, there's my brother Aaron ; he is a good exhorter, and that 's about all." He died March 1, 1859, aged 62.
LUMMUS, CHARLES F. - the first Lynn printer. He died April 20, 1838, aged 37. For biographical sketch see 1865 edition of History of Lynn. A fac-simile of his signature follows.
Charles J. hummmy
MANSFIELD, ANDREW. Mr. Mansfield was, properly speaking, our first Town Clerk, and entered upon the duties of the office in 1660. He lived on Boston street in the section still known as Mansfield's end. The carly dates of our Annals contain many references to him, as he was active and conspicuous. To him we are indebted for the preservation of a record of the land allotments of 1638, which he copied from " out of the Town Book of Records of Lynn," March 10, 1660. And the fac-simile of his signature here given is taken from his autograph appended to that copy.
Andrews man floils.
MANSFIELD, Dr. JOSEPH. This individual, for many years a reputable practising physician in Groton, Mass., was born on the 17th of December, 1770, in the old Mansfield house, known also as the Moulton house, on the north side of Boston street, opposite the foot of Marion, and was a lineal descendant of An- drew Mansfield, the first Town Clerk He graduated at Harvard college in 1801, and soon applied himself to the study of medicine, the practice of which he pursued as the business of his life, which terminated on the 23d of April, 1831.
Mr. Mansfield early exhibited poetic talents which bid fair to place his name among the foremost of American bards. But he seems not to have been ambitious of any such distinction and hence did not cultivate his rare gift. On the 8th of January, 1 800, he delivered a poem in the chapel of Harvard college, for which he took the prize of eighty dollars, offered by the faculty
I71
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Mansfield.
for the best metrical production. The poem is entitled HOPE, and is two hundred and twenty-four lines in length. In reading it one is reminded of Pope's philosophical style ; though there are passages in a sentimental vein, and some in a playful. And as it was written at a period of intense political agitation, there are highly patriotic strains. The first and last stanzas, with a single intervening one will be here introduced.
I am not blest, but may hereafter be : Who knows what fortune has in store for me ? This is the language common to mankind, Nor is to age, or rank, or sex, confined. Hope points to each some not far distant day, When every blessing will his wish obey ; When to possess, he only need require ; Fruition's self will supersede desire.
* *
See doting parents sedulously trace The opening beauties of their infant's face ; Commencing physiognomists, they find A world of wonders in its features joined ; The mother reads, and comments as she reads ; My child was born for more than mortal deeds ; Then Hope steps up and whispers by her side, You cradle in your arms creation's pride.
* *
We hope, long as the central orb attracts, Long as the force of gravitation acts, Long as the East is opposite the West, Long as the name of Washington is blest, Long as the atheist hopes to sleep in dust,
Long as the sons of anarchy are curst, Long as the future differs from the past,- So long, Columbia, will thy freedom last. But should the monster Faction break his chains, And fiery demagogues usurp the reins - We hope that future Washingtons may rise, Or rather make a visit from the skies.
An accident which happened to Mr. Mansfield, as narrated by Mr. John T. Moulton, was so singular as to merit notice here. "While bathing near Chase's mill he was seized with the cramp in his limbs and so disabled that he could not reach the shore, and when found by his companions, who were at work, haying, on the marsh near by, was supposed to be drowned ; but by the application of the proper means he was resuscitated
172 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Marble. Marshall. Martin.
and taken home, but did not regain his consciousness for some days. Then, awaking from sleep, he suddenly exclaimed, ' Mo- ther, where have I been ?' He seemed to have lost what know- ledge he had acquired and his mind was like that of a child, so that it was necessary for him to begin and learn again his letters as he had done when a boy."
It may not be inappropriate, in closing this notice, to remark that a poetic vein seems to have run in this family connection. Mr. John T. Moulton, who delivered the much-applauded poem at the reunion of the High School graduates, May 19, 1865, is one of the line ; and Solomon Moulton, of whom a biographical notice with specimens of his writing may be found in the 1865 edition of our History, and of whose poetic talents Mr. Lewis frequently spoke in high terms, was an uncle of John T. And this latter gentleman has, among his valuable collection, a number of poems, in manuscript, of Mr. Mansfield, the subject of this notice, which it is hoped may at some future time appear in print.
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