History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 70

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1034

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 70

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In addition to the various modes of conveying pas- sengers from Cambridge to Boston allusion should be made to the " Harvard branch," although it had but a brief existence. This was a spur from the Fitchburg Steam Railroad and terminating near the northerly bounds of the Common in Old Cambridge. This route was abandoned after a short trial, as it tailed to meet the needs of the people or to be remunerative.

The business of the Cambridge Division of the West End Railroad Company for the year 1889 was as follows : Number of horses, 1502 ; number of cars,

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

153; miles run, 3,308,027 ; passengers, 18,545,409 ; cost of road and equipment, $3,291,175. Of the above cars 53 are electric.

BRIDGES .- Cambridge owes much to its bridges ; some account, therefore, cannot fail to be of interest to those who have received, and will continue to re- ceive from them, great and permanent benefits. The first bridge ever built over Charles River was called the Great Bridge, connecting "Old Cambridge with Brighton." It was erected in 1660, and was ordered to be laid in "ozle and lead," and the town ordered that the Selectmen "should improve the timber that was brought for the fortification," for the repairing of the Great Bridge; and when it was rebuilt in 1690 by Cambridge and Newton, they received aid from the public treasury. At the time this bridge was built, what are now -the towns of Newton, Arlington and Lexington were parts of Cambridge, and they were required to share with Cambridge the expense of maintaining the bridge in proportion to the respect- ive valuation of their several towns, which they con- tinued to do until they were released from that obli- gation, March 25, 1860, by the General Court. All other corporations having been released from liability, the General Court made a final disposition of the matter by an act passed March 11, 1862, by which the city of Cambridge and the town of Brighton were authorized and required to rebuild the Great Bridge over Charles River, the expense to be borne in proportion to the respective valuation of said city and town; and it was also provided that a draw not less than thirty-two feet wide, should be con- structed at an equal distance from each abutment, and that the middle of the draw should be the di- viding line between Cambridge and Brighton at that point, and that thereafter each corporation should maintain its half of the structure at its own expense.

The West Boston Bridge was the second toll-bridge built over Charles River, the one connecting Charles- town with Boston, called the Charles River Bridge, having been erected in 1785, and the West Boston Bridge in 1793, and opened for travel in November of the same year (November 23d). Dr. Abiel Holmes, who witnessed the building of the bridge, and who was familiar with the details, describes it as a "mag- nificent structure." Elbridge Gerry, afterwards Gov- ernor of Massachusetts and Vice-President of the United States, who then resided in "Elmwood," now the home of James Russeil Lowell, the poet, was the first one allowed to pass over the bridge on the day of opening, starting from his home at sunrise, on horseback, with his wife, who was said to be the most accomplished and attractive lady in the land.

The first officers of the corporation were Hon. Francis Dana, president; Mungo Mackay, treasurer; and Harrison Gray Otis, clerk.

At a meeting of the directors, March 23, 1792, an assessment of ten dollars a share was laid, and it was

and hereby is offered to Mungo Mackay and Henry Prentiss, jointly, as a consideration to superintend the whole labor of building the bridge, to procure laborers and make contracts for materials of all kinds, submitting, however, all contracts to the sub-com- mittee of Directors for confirmation. It being under- stood that the said Mackay and Prentiss (if they un- dertake the business) shall devote their whole time, or the whole time of one of them to the business. And they shall have liberty to resign their appoint- ment at any time if it interferes with their private concerns." Messrs Mackay and Prentiss accepted the appointment and made the contracts, and engaged Zenas Whiting as master-workman. The work was begun on the 8th of April, 1793, and in seven months and a half from the laying of the first pier the work was completed at a cost of $76,700, and "for elegance of workmanship and the magnitude of the under- taking" was pronounced "unequalled in the history of enterprises." The Boston Chronicle, of November 27, 1793, says: "This bridge, for length, elegance and grandeur is not exceeded by any in the United States, if in any part of the world." The Columbian Centinel of the same date says, that "for elegance of workman- ship and economy in the construction it is thought to be the greatest masterpiece of mechanical ingenuity that was ever executed in this country ;" and adds that "the proprietors have a claim on the liberality of the public and the patronage of the government; and hope to these claims government will not be inatten- tive."

There is a peculiarity in the mode of paying the tollmen. The directors voted that the annual salary of the principal tollmen should be $333.33. Afterwards it was voted that a grant be made to them of $166.66, in addition to this salary, and fre- quently it would be ordered, "that in consideration of their faithful services and the high prices of pro- visions and fuel," the sum of $50 were given them as a gratuity.

About the time of closing the accounts for con- structing the bridge were settled, the following vote was passed: "That the Treasurer pay to Messrs. Shed & Page three Pounds, and make no charge against them for Rum furnished them when they had no beer for the workmen, and for the breaking of crockery and other utensils, in full compensation for their demands against the Proprietors, and take their receipt in full."

The affairs of the corporation were managed with the strictest economy. For instance, on one occasion it was "voted that William Spooner and Mungo Mackay be appointed a committee for the purpose of contracting with Lamplighters, and to make a calcu- lation of the quantity of Oyl necessary for lighting the lamps, and to secure the unnecessary waste of oy]."

In the year 1828 the Legislature considered the sub- voted "That the sum of seven hundred pounds be, " ject of purchasing all the bridges over Charles River,

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for the purpose of making them free before their charters would legally expire. This led to a pro- longed controversy, in which the doctrine of "vested rights" was strongly assailed and nearly (if not com- pletely) overthrowu. In the year 1846 the Hancock Free Bridge Corporation received a charter empower- ing them to purchase the two bridges between Cam- bridge and Boston of the corporations which owned them, and to maintain them as toll-bridges until a fund of $150,000 should be raised, which sum was to be paid to the State, and for which sum the State was to keep them free forever. This act was amended in 1857 to allow the city of Cambridge to take the fund aud maintain them as free avenues forever. The bridges were made free on Saturday, January 31, 1858, and the event was celebrated on the following Monday, viz., February 2, 1858. The price paid for West Boston Bridge was $75,000, and for Canal, or Cragie's Bridge, $60,000. So thorough and uni- versal was the joy and satisfaction of the people in the freedom of the bridges that they evinced their delight by turning out en masse in a procession got up in very short notice, and, escorted by the National Lancers, they paraded through the principal streets of Cam- bridge and over both bridges. The public buildings and the houses of private citizens were decorated, and many of them were illuminated in the evening, when there was a display of fireworks. On each of the bridges the procession halted, and the president of the Hancock Free Corporation, the Hon. Isaac Liver- more, formally surrendered them respectively to the mayor of Cambridge. When the custody of the bridges was placed in the hands of the city, and the Hon. John Sargent, as mayor, accepted the charge, and in the name of the good city proclaimed them free forever, the multitude shouted with an enthusi- asm which indicated that their delight was heartfelt and sincere.

Canal or Cragie's Bridge .- This bridge, connecting Boston with Lechmere Point (now East Cambridge), was opened for travel in August, 1809, and at that time there was but one dwelling-house in what is now the populous Third Ward of the city. It was occupied by two brothers, named Russell, who improved near- ly all the land for farming purposes. The opening of the bridge made a perceptible influence on the growth and prosperity of the place, and very soon large manufactures were established there, the most prominent of which was the New England Glass Works, so well known and celebrated all over the country, and now, in the year 1890, East Cambridge is the seat of many large and important industries.

Prison Point Bridge .- This bridge was built in 1815 for the benefit of Canal Bridge by virtue of a charter granted in 1806 for building a dam from Prison Point, in Charlestown, and Lechmere Point, in Cam. bridge, and erecting mills on the same. No dam was constructed nor mill erected, and it was laid out as a county road in January, 1839.

River Street Bridge was built for the advantage of the West Boston Bridge and the owners of real es- tate in Cambridgeport in 1810, and in 1832 the town assumed the care of the bridge and roadway leading to it.

The Western Avenue Bridge was built by the West Boston Bridge Corporation, under authority granted by an act passed June 12, 1824, empowering them to build a turnpike from Cambridge to Watertown, and it was maintained by that corporation until they sold their whole franchise to the Hancock Free Bridge Corporation.

The Cambridge and Brookline Bridge was built in 1850 for the benefit of and at the expense of persons owning real estate in the immediate vicinity, and was a toll-bridge until 1869, when, by permission ot the General Court, it was transferred to the city and became free, and since that date Cambridge has no toll-bridges.

The act incorporating the proprietors of the West Boston Bridge gave them power to open, construct, and maintain ditches, canals, aud drains, over, through, and across the marsh or upland on each side of the way or road which they were obliged to take by a previous act ; but, provided, with great care for the settlement of damages which might result to those from whom the corporation took land making the "Bodies " of the proprietors liable to b taken on execution of judgment against. If th: liability was attendant upon the members of corpora tions in our times who fail to meet their engagements it might lead to some unpleasant results, and it cer- : tainly must have been considered very good security for a debt where the " Bodies " of Chief Justice Dana, Governor Sullivan, Oliver Wendell and Christopher Gore " would be taken on execution " in default of pay- ment.

THE PRESS .- The Cambridge Chronicle was the first regular " subscription paper " in Cambridge, and wa- started almost simultaneously with the organization of the City Government, in 1846, by Andrew Reid, & practical printer, and who continued to print, publis and edit it until his death, which took place in less th: two years from the time he commenced the enterpri when he was succeeded by Mr. John Ford, another practical printer, who continued to print and publish the paper for about ten years, since which time it has changed ownership several times, and is now owned and published by Mr. Buffum, and is in a very flourishing condition, and has probably the largest circulation of any paper in the city.

The Cambridge Press .- This paper was originated by Mr. James Cox, a practical printer, in the year 1866, and is still published aud printed by him, as- sisted by his sons. This paper has always been ably edited and well conducted, and is at the present time the official organ for the city printing.

Cambridge Tribune .- This paper was started by D. Gilbert Dexter in the year 1862, and continued to be

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conducted solely by him until his removal from Cam- bridge, in the year when it passed into the hands of William B. Howland, under whose ownership it was very ably conducted with fairness and impartiality, and pure in its moral tone and character as well as in its literary department. Mr. Howland has lately re- moved to New York where he continues his literary work, and Mr. F. Stanhope Hill has become the editor and proprietor.

The Cambridge News, owned, edited and published by Mr. D. A. Buckley, has a large circulation, and is considered a good medium for the advertising of real estate.

SOCIETIES, LODGES, ETC. - Masonic. - Amicable Lodge, chartered 1805; Putnam Lodge, chartered 1854; Cambridge Royal Arch Chapter, chartered 1864; Mount Olivet Lodge, chartered 1863; Mizpah Lodge, chartered 1867; Charity Lodge, 1870.

Odd-Fellows .- Mount Moriah Lodge, No. 21; New England Lodge, No. 4, instituted 1827 ; Charles River Encampment, No. 22, instituted 1846; Friendship Lodge, No. 20, instituted 1843; New England En- campment, No. 34, instituted 1865; Mount Auburn, No. 94, instituted 1870; Amity Lodge, D. of R., No. 15, instituted 1871; Olive Branch Lodge, D. of R., ... No. 21, instituted 1874 ; Mount Sinai Lodge, No. 69, authstituted 1874; Cambridge Lodge, No. 13, instituted ov 74; Odd-Fellows' Relief Association, organized opor 71 ; New England Provident Association, organized nd t371; Harvard Lodge, G. U. O. O. F., No. 1549, in- ss tituted 1873; American Legion of Honor, instituted ed :380.

hat Other Societies .- Amicable Fire Society, instituted 1810; Cambridge Humane Society, instituted 1814 ; Cambridge Police Aid Association, instituted 1863 ; Civil Service Reform Association, instituted 1881; University Press Relief Association, instituted -; Cambridge Veteran Firemen's Association, instituted wit1985; Newtowne Club, instituted 1883; Union City g blission Sewing-school, instituted -; Avon Place e infome, instituted 1874; Sons of New Hampshire, in- me jtuted -; Associated Charities of Cambridge, in- vitnesuted -; Catholic Young Men's Gymnasium, milia ituted -; Cambridge Woman's Suffrage League, instituted 1886 ; Cambridge Fireman's Relief Asso- ciation, instituted 1869 ; Cambridge Y. M. C. Associ- ation, instituted 1883; Cambridgeport Flower Mis- sion, instituted -; Dowse Institute, instituted 1860; Mason & Hamlin Benefit Society, instituted

Harvard Societies.1-Fraternity of Phi Beta Kappa, · 1776; The Classical Club, 1885 ; La Conference Fran- çaise, 1886; Deutscher Verein, 1886 ; Harvard Natu- is ral History Society, 1857 ; Boylston Chemical Club, ai1887 ; Harvard Electrical Club, 1888; Harvard His- a torical Society, 1880; Harvard Finance Club, 1878 ; meHarvard Free Wool Club, -; Harvard Philosophi-

cal Club, 1878; Harvard Art Club, 1875; English Club, 1889; Harvard Y. M. C. A., 1802; The St. Paul's Society, 1861 ; Harvard Total Abstinence League, 1888; O. K., 1858; The Signet, 1870; The Hasty Pudding, 1775; Institute of 1770, 1770; Alpha Delta Phi, Harv. Chapter, 1857; Zeta Psi, Rho Chap- ter, 1847; Delta Upsilon, 1834; Pi Eta Society, 1865; Beta Theta' Pi, Harv. 'Chapter, 1843; Delta Phi, Zeta Chapter, -; Harvard Camera Club, 1888 ; Harvard Chess and Whist Club, -; Harvard Union, 1832; reorganized, 1880; Harvard Glee Club, 1858; Harvard Andover Club, 1888; Exeter Club of Harvard University, -; Southern Club of Harvard University, 1888; Harvard Minnesota Club, 1888 ; Harvard Connecticut Club, 1888; Foxcroft Club, 1889.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

CORNELIUS CONWAY FELTON.2

Cornelius Conway Felton, the eldest son of Cor- nelius Conway and Anna (Morse) Felton, was born in Newbury, Mass., November 6, 1807. His parents gave their children the heritage of their own superior intelligence and moral worth, but were able to bestow on their higher education little beyond their hearty sympathy and encouragement. While Cornelius was still a little child they removed to Saugus, and lived in the near neighborhood of Dr. Cheever, grandfather of the present Professor of Anatomy in Harvard Uni- versity.

The Doctor, finding young Felton a boy of excel- lent promise, gave him his first lessons in Latin, and furthered his advancement by every means within his power. Felton was fitted for college under the tuition of Simeon Putnam, of North Andover, who had high and well-merited reputation as a classical teacher.

He entered Harvard College as a Freshman in 1823. He took at once, and maintained through his college course, a foremost place in his class, and was second to none in the department of ancient lan- guages, and manifested the power of rapid acquisition of the scholarly tastes that distinguished him through life. At the same time he won the cordial friendship of all who were brought into intimate relations with him, and they were such friends as he was glad to hold ever afterwards in the dearest regard. No one can have ever passed through the ordeal of student life with a character more transparently pure. Temp- tation, indeed, had for him no meaning. He loved society, but only the best, and his own influence was from the first refining and elevating. He had an elastic spirit, and bore the burdens of his early life easily and cheerily-yet they must have been heavy.

1 Date given is that of incorporation.

2 By Rev. A. P. Peabody, D.D.

b. G. Fellin

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He was dependent mainly on his own industry, with the very slender aid then given by the college to meritorious students, and he worked in the library in vacations, taught school, and resorted to every honor- able meaus for replenishing his scanty resources, all the while practicing a more rigid economy than would seem credible to a student of the present day.

Immediately on graduating he went to Geneseo, New York, with two of his classmates, to take charge of an academy founded by Mr. James Wadsworth, well known as a munificent patron of learning. He remained there two years, and then returned to Cam- bridge as a tutor in Latin.

In 1830 he was appointed a tutor in Greek ; in 1832 College Professor of Greek, and in 1834 Eliot Profes- sor of Greek Literature. He had in these successive offices the occupation most congenial with his taste, and one for which no man could have been more emi- Gently fitted, by the cast of his mind, the direction of his studies, and his enthusiastic love of the litera- ture of which he was the teacher and expositor. He was by no means rigid or exacting in the class-room, and an indifferent scholar was put by him under no con- pulsory pressure, but those who were ready to learn received from him the most ample aid and derived from their intercourse with him the strongest stimu- lus to persevering industry. At the same time his genial disposition and his fellow-feeling with young life, which never waned, made him a favorite teacher with all who came under his charge.

The only important episodes in this period of his life were European tours and sojourns in 1853 and 1856, On both these occasions he not only visited Greece, but traveled in the country extensively, and with close observation ; made himself acquainted with the leading men, especially with those concerned in the revival of letters and the diffusion of knowledge, and became conversant with the institutions and the public life of the kingdom. What a man gains by tra- vel depends mainly on what he carries with him, on his knowledge of the fit topics for research and inquiry, and probably no American has ever been in Greece who was more thoroughly versed than he in all that could be known of the past, or better qualified to form an accurate judgment and estimate of the present and the future of a people so long depressed and down- trodden, yet with so rich a heritage of ancestral fame. In 1855 Mr. Agassiz established in Cambridge a school for young ladies, and Mr. Felton, though with his full tale of college duties, became a teacher and lecturer in that institution and contributed very largely to its success and prosperity.

When, on the resignation of Dr. Walker, in 1860, the presidency of Harvard University became vacant, Mr. Felton was elected as his successor, and in their votes the governing boards simply ratified the unani- mous choice of the whole community. In this office it can hardly be said that he met the expectations of his friends, but their disappointment was one of sur-

prise and admiration. He had previously led the quiet life of a scholar, absorbed in his books and lit- erary labor, with few relations of business with the outside world and with no opportunities for testing his executive ability, and it was anticipated that he would adorn the headship of the college by the rare grace and beauty of his spirit, character and culture rather than that he would take upon himself the un- numbered prosaic details of duty and service which then made the presidency of Harvard College as arduous and as multifarious a charge as could well be devised or imagined. But with an intense feeling of responsibility as for a most sacred trust, he entered upon a thoroughly energetic administration, giving his personal attention to all concerns that could rightfully come under his cognizance, seeking full knowledge of the work of the teachers, exercising a watchful vigilance over the students, and making himself felt not merely as a gracious and kindly pres- ence, but as an active and action-compelling force in every department of the university. He even became a strict disciplinarian when it was his duty to be so, though it was manifest that in the infliction of pen - alty he suffered more than those who deserved and needed it. His labors were rendered more severe and exhausting by the growing discontent with the stereotyped and obsolescent methods of our New Eng- land colleges and the movement towards a broader culture and a higher intellectual life, in which he was in the front rank of the leading minds. With his unresting assiduity, he was oppressed by a painful sense of the vast interests devolved upon his discre- tion and ability, and by the constant accumulatious of demands upon his time and strength, which grew more and more numerous and urgent from his habit of giving heed to every claim and of assuming every burden that he was asked to bear. But his over- tasked vigor of body yielded under the incessant strain and tension. Symptoms of heart-disease, which had already given his friends some uneasi- ness, became more decided and alarming from the time that he exchanged his sedentary habits for a more active life. Early in 1862, during the winter vacation, he was induced to seek relief and recreation by a change of scene and surroundings, and he vis- ited his brother at Thurlow, Penna. Here his disease advanced rapidly to a fatal issue. After an attack in which his death was expected from moment to mo- ment he seemed for a little while convalescent.

On the 26th of February, the first day of the new term, I received a letter from him dictated when respiration and utterance were intermittent and labo- rious, telling me that he had been at the point of death but now began to hope for prolonged life, express- ing fervent gratitude to the Divine Providence, and asking me to beg the College Faculty, in the name o the Infinite Love, to be lenient and merciful in ce- tain cases of discipline that had been laid over fro the preceding term. That same evening I read t

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letter to the Faculty, obtained the desired vote, and had hardly reached my home when I received a tele- gram announcing his death.

Mr. Felton filled a very large and in some respects a unique place in our world of letters. It is seldom that an adept in one department is a proficient in all the essential branches of liberal culture. This, how- ever, was true of him. While as a classical scholar he had no superior, he was versed in the languages and familiar with the best literature of modern Europe, was largely conversant with natural science, and had a highly educated and nicely critical taste in the en- tire realm of art. The ability that he showed in many and diverse directions, had its scope been nar- rower, would have been accounted as genius of a very high order ; but in its breadth and versatility it was more than genius. Within the largest bounds of a liberal education no demand was made upon him that found him incapable or unprepared, and whatever he did he did it so well that he seemed to have a special adaptation for it. As a writer he was easy and grace- ful, brilliant in metaphor, rich and apt in illustra- tion, and whenever his subject permitted, affluent in wit and humor. He often wrote too rapidly to do himself full justice, but when the occasion required and leisure served he had at his command a style of finished elegance and beauty. He was often false to his own reputation in his unstinted kindness to others. No one ever applied to him for aid in lit- erary labor of any sort without receiving all and more than all the assistance he desired. He would put aside work of his own that he was anxious to finish to look up authorities, to furnish working material, to revise manuscripts, to correct proof for those whose only claim upon him was their need, and, of course, the report of his generosity was constantly multiply- ing his would-be beneficiaries. Had he converted to his own use all the time, thought and study that he contributed to fame in which he had no share, pos- terity might have admired him more, but his own co- evals would have loved him less. Indeed, those who knew him best feel that no man could have been more lovable than he. He can never have made an enemy or forgotten or lost a friend.

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 70

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1034