History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. III, Part 27

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1278

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. III > Part 27

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Immediately after the first club was dissolved it was thought best to form another one, limiting the member- ship to twenty persons, and making it eminently a social club, holding meetings at the residences of var- ious members once in two months.

This new organization was formed on March 14, 1870, and the list of officers elected at that time was as follows : President, George H. Jones ; secretary and treasurer, J. F. Edmands ; executive committee, George Frost, John C. Chaffin, John C. Potter, Jr.

A constitution and by-laws were adopted at this meeting and the club named "The Jersey Stock Club of Newton." . The object of the club, as declared, was to promote the keeping and improve the breeding of Jersey stock in Newton, and social intercourse among the members.

The membership of twenty is always full, and is composed of the most prominent citizens of the city. The original members were: Isaac T. Burr, John C. Chaffin, Hon. Wm. Claflin, Nathaniel T. Coburn, E. W. Converse, Fred'k Davis, Hon. J. Wiley Edmands, D. R. Emerson, J. F. Edmands, George Frost, Joel II. Hills, David B. Jewett, David H. Mason, George H. Jones, George C. Lord, John C. Potter, Jr., George C. Rand, Hon. Alden Speare, J. C. Stanton, Jos. H. Woodford.

The club has done a good work in this section of the country in the introduction, by selection and im- portation from the Isle of Jersey, of a superior class of cattle, and it is quite probable that the fine taste for Jersey butter and rich milk has been cultivated by its influence.

The club occasionally holds exhibitions of stock owned by members; the last show of this kind was held on the ample grounds of the late Hon. John S. Farlow, when forty-one head of the beautiful pure- blood Jerseys were brought together, and eminent breeders and prominent gentlemen from other parts of the country were congregated at that time to pass judgment on the cattle and their products. Actual demonstrations like the above are feit far and wide, and it is pleasant to note the influence as expressed in all the country fairs, and more particularly at the late State Fair of the New England Agricultural So- ciety, where Jersey cattle and their products were more prominent than all the other cattle on exhibi- tion.

The present officers of the club are : President, E. B. Haskell ; Vice-president, John S. Farlow ; 1 Secre- tary, Jos. H. Woodford ; Treasurer, A. Lawrence Ed- mands ; Executive Committee, George Frost, John C. Chaffin, John C. Potter,

NEWTON NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY .- The New- ton Natural History Society dates from the autumn

I Deceased March, 1880.

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of 1879. The first regular meeting was held October 28th of that year. Its avowed objects were the study of natural science and the development of interest in such matters among young people and in the public schools.

The membership and attendance soon ontgrew the capacity of a private house, and a small room was rented in Eliot Block, in Newton, and this was after- ward exchanged for the lower hall in that building. The interest shown at this time has not always been maintained, as the membership changed through re- movals and deaths, but at the present time the soci- ety has a live membership, and is probably doing more than ever to justify its existence. Its usual pru- gramme includes an essay on some scientific subject by a member of the society or by an invited essayist. Valuable features of the meetings are the short talks given by members upon subjects which they have heen investigating. These talks, illustrated by the blackboard, are especially calculated to a-sist begin- ners, and to call attention to the many points of in- terest in things easily accessible. The society has made a collection of objects pertaining to natural his- tory, and by the donation of several valuable private collections it has formed a nucleus of a useful collec- tion. Among its recent gifts may be mentioned a fine collection of plants by the late Gen. A. B. Under- wood, a collection of minerals from Mr. Edward Fearing, and another from the late Judge J. C. Park. Until the society shall have a building of its own, it will labor under a serious disadvantage. To be of use, its specimens ought to be accessible, and avail- able for study and comparison. Since February 26, 1883, the society has been incorporated under the laws of Massachusetts. With the organization it already possesses, it is easy to claim a far higher degree of usefulness when sufficient public interest can be awakened to provide it with proper means for extend- ing its work. Its meetings are held on the first Mon- day evening of each month at Eliot Lower Hall, Newton. The public is invited to attend.

ELIOT MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION .- One of the earliest incidents in the history of Massachusetts is associated with a portion of Middlesex County, and the scene lies in what is now the city of Newton. Nothing but Plymouth Rock antedates, in historic interest, the IIill Nonantum, where the Apostle Eliot began his work among and for the Indians. The Eliot Memorial Association has secured a plot of ground on the southern slope of Nonantun Hill, off Kendrick Street and Waverly Avenue, and erected a handsome stone terrace with freestone balustrade, ornamented with allegoric design and with appropriate inscriptions. On the completion of the memorial by the introduction of a fountain, or other suitable decoration, the Eliot Memorial will be given over to the city of Newton, and form one of the most effective wayside monuments within its horders. The scene is one of the most attractive

possible, overlooking the valley between Nonantum and Waban Hills, and embellished, towards the east, by two pleasant lakes and the spires of Brighton and Boston. Newton has for its seal a representa- tion of E iot preaching to the Indians, and the Eliot Memorial fixes upon the landscape the scene so thoroughly identified with her history. The principal inscription upon the memorial tersely puts, with historie accuracy, the events commemo- rated. It is as follows :

"Here at Nonantum, Oct. 28, 1646, in Waban's Wigwam, Near this spot. John Eliot began to preach the gospel to The Indians. Here was founded the first Christian Community of Indians within the English Colonies."

Carved in the corbels of the balustrade are the names Waban, Heath, Shepard and Gookin; these are the names of Eliot's companions at that first service in 1646.

Eliot wrote in a little pamphlet, published in Eng- land (" Day-breaking of the Gospel ") : " Upon Octo- ber 28, 1646, four of us (having sought God) went unto the Indians inhabiting within our bounds with desire to make known their peace to them." They met Waban, " one of their principal men," and pro- ceeded to his wigwam, where the first service was held, Eliot preaching in the Indian tongue, he hav- ing, with infinite pains, learned their language, and he was already engaged upon his translation of the Bible. The interesting details of this and following services have been often rehearsed. Eliot now brought the Indians together in a village, gave them spades and other tools, encouraged them to plant apple-trees and build walls and dig ditches. To civ- ilize and Christianize at the same time was his aim. " Wee have much cause to be very thankful to God, who has moved the hearts of the General Court to purchase so much land for them to make their towne, in which the Indians are much taken with." " This towne the Indians desired to know what name it should have, and it was told them it should be called ' Noonatomen ' (sic), which signifies in English, 're- joicing,' because they, hearing the Word and seeking to know God, the English did rejoice at it, and God did rejoice at it, which pleased them much." (From " Day-breaking if not the Sun Uprising of the Gospel to the Indians.")

Five years later this community of Indians was re- moved to Natick. Nonantum was too near the white man's fire-water and attendant vices. The westward march of the Indians then commences and has never ceased, and now we have come back to the Apostle Eliot's thought that civilization and Christianity must go hand-in-hand to benefit the Indian.

In 1676, when the praying Indians were brought up from Deer Island, after King Philip's War, many of the Indians returned to Nonantum and settled " near where Mr. Eliot first preached to them." A school-house was built for them on land of Deacon Trowbridge, and here Mr. Eliot continued to preach

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to them, and Daniel Gookin, a magistrate, held court every fortnight.

Abraham Hyde, who was born a quarter of a cen- tury later, remembered well the orchard and walls and ditches of Nonantum, and spoke of their location to Jonathan Homer, who wrote of the same in his sketch of Newton, printed in 1793.

Thus history and tradition unite in the site of No- nantum, the Indian village, and it has been the good fortune of the Eliot Memorial Association to fix upon the landscape a memorial, as enduring as history itself, of the scene where John Eliot began his work for the Indiaus.

THE NEWTON COTTAGE HOSPITAL .- The need of the city of Newton for an institution for the care of the sick was first publicly suggested in the autumn of 1880. It was seen that the Boston hospitals were usually full, that the danger from severe accidents was increased by transportation to them, and that a better result in all diseases was probable when treated in the purer air of the suburbs. For these and other reasons it seemed to some of the citizens desirable that a hospital should be established in a healthful location in Newton. A number of gentlemen met on November 10, 1880, in response to an invitation signed by the mayor of the city and others, and voted unani- mously that it was expedient to establish in Newton a " Cottage Hospital." This name was adopted from England, where for several years small buildings for the care of the sick, frequently a cottage-dwelling con- verted from its original use, had been established, and with such favorable results in the treatment of disease, as compared with the large city hospitals, that their number increased rapidly.

These were called Cottage Hospitals, and even where moderate-sized buildings were erected, espe- cially designed for the purpose, the same term was applied to them. It is an attractive designation for an institution usually regarded with dread, and there- fore was selected by the Newton organization. At the meeting of November 10th a committee of twelve was appointed to take the matter into consideration and report a plan of action at a subsequent meeting. The committee met November 26th and voted to es- tablish the hospital as a private corporation, and articles of association and by-laws were considered and laid over for future action. The committee met again December 18th and adopted a set of provisional by-laws as a basis of action. The association, which was subsequently constituted the Newton Cottage Hospital Corporation, was formed December 18th by the committee of twelve and nine other gentlemen. This association met Jan. 4, 1881, and organized a corporation by adopting a code of by-laws and elect- ing a clerk, a treasurer and five trustees. The trus- . tees met Jannary 6, 1881, and elected a president and vice-president. The certificate of incorporation was granted January 11, 1881. The first annual meeting of the corporation was held January 17, 1881, when 8-iii

forty-three ladies and gentlemen who were present were elected members, and twenty-four trustees, twelve ladies and twelve gentlemen, were chosen, and a clerk and treasurer elected. At a meeting of the trustees January 22d, a committee was appointed to investi- gate the subject of hospital buildings and report upon the character of such as would be required. At a meeting of the trustees, March 16th, the president, Royal M. Pulsifer, announced that he had secured twelve subscriptions of five hundred dollars each, and a committee was appointed to decide upon a location for the hospital and purchase the necessary land. This committee examined several sites and reported to the trustees from time to time; but no definite ac- tion in the matter was taken until June 27, 1884, when the trustees voted to purchase a lot on Washing- ton Street, containing about nine acres, at $400 per acre. This lot is beautifully situated, with a south- western aspect, and has a frontage of 468 feet on Washington Street. January 2, 1885, the trustees examined plans and estimates for buildings, and ap- pointed a building committee with full powers.

In the summer of 1885 the ladies of the city formed a Ladies' Aid Association, which has always been an invaluable adjunct to the hospital. At the trustees' meeting, March 23, 1886, the Executive Committee submitted a code of rules for the management of the hospital which were approved. May 11, 1886, the Executive Committee reported that they had appoint- ed a Medical Board, and that this Medical Board had prepared rules for the medical government of the hospital. The buildings were erected in the winter of 1885-86, and the hospital was dedicated June 5, 1886. The hospital was furnished by the Ladies' Aid Association. The land and buildings cost about $14,000. A peculiarity of the organization of the hospital is that the two leading schools of medicine are equally represented in the Medical Board. The executive officer of the hospital is the matron. A training-school for nurses has been established, which performs an important use both to the hospital and the community. A much-needed addition was made to the hospital by a new ward, built by one of the citizens of Newton, Mr. J. R. Leeson, as a me- morial to his wife, at a cost of $6240. This new ward, which is used for women, was dedicated May 4th, 1890.

The hospital is supported by an annual appropria- tion from the city of Newton, by subscriptions of $300 each for the support of free beds, by donations, by contributions in the churches on Hospital Sunday, by income from funds which have been given by sundry individuals, and by the amount received for board and care of patients. For the year ending December 31, 1888, over $8000 was received from these sources ; the expenses for the year being about $6000. The total number of patients in the hospital for three years and five months was 373. There were, Dec. 1, 1889, accommodations for twenty-nine patients,

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and in 1890 a new ward was added which nearly doubles the accomodations.

NEWTON HOSPITAL AID ASSOCIATION .- In June, 1885, the trustees of the Newton Cottage Hospital issued a call to the ladies of Newton. In response to this call, thirty-three ladies, representing all the New- ton villages, held a meeting at the Eliot Church, Newton, July 3, 1885. Mrs. Alvah Hovey was chosen chairman. She announced that it was the desire of the trustees that the ladies of Newton form themselves into an association to furnish the rooms and provide for the running expenses of the hospital. The fol- lowiug resolution was adopted :

"RESOLVED, That the ladies of Newton associate themselves as a Ladies' Aid Association for the purpose of working for the hospital."

A committee were appointed to arrange by-laws. September 24, 1885, an organization meeting was held at Grace Church, Newton, A board of officers were elected, and it was voted to adopt the name, "The Newton Hospital Aid Association."

The furnishing of the hospital was accomplished through the association by contributions from in- dividuals, churches, literary societies and Sunday- schools.

Two directors are chosen each year to visit the hospital before each meeting, and consult with the matron in regard to the needs of patients.

The directors have been responsible for the col- lection of membership fees in their various districts and by their earnest etforts have interested the people to care for the sick and give of their abundance to alleviate suffering and pain. There is a membership of over three hundred ladies.

THE NEWTON ATHEN.EUM .- The Newton Athenæ- um was organized at West Newton in 1849 under the general statutes of Massachusetts.

The stock was held in shares of ten dollars. Its object was to maintain a library for the use of its shareholders.

Mr. Wm. B. Fowle, Sr., was chosen the first presi- dent and the Hon. Horace Mann one of its directors.

The library was opened in a small room in the Town Hall building February 25, 1850. It numbered 640 volumes, many of them gifts from members and others.

At first the library was open on Mondays-after- noon and evening-and "on Town Meeting days during the hours of each meeting."

As some fifty to one hundred citizens of both sexes and all ages would be meeting at the library on these Monday evenings "to exchange books and saluta- tions," the suggestion was soon made that they should adjourn to the Town Hall, the use of which they could have by furnishing fuel, lights and care, and with the simplest organization devote a half-hour or more to the discussion of some interesting theme, usually suggested by the last new book. The ex- periment proved satisfactory, and the meetings were

kept up from March 18th until late in the autumn, when they gave place to a course of lectures given under the auspices of the Athenaum.

From that time on (with a few short lapses) meet- ings of the same general character have been held each season, the exercises usually consisting of short lectures, discussions and music, "home talent " being mainly depended upon for their support. These meetings of the "West Newton Lyceum " have be- come somewhat noted beyond the town limits as be- ing almost the sole survival of a class of institutions once held in high esteem throughout New England.

In May, 1860, the library, containing 2000 volumes, was moved to better quarters and deliveries made three times a week.

Until 1867 only the families of shareholders and persons paying a small annual fee used the library. In that year the directors were authorized to allow any resident of Newton to take out books. For several years thereafter this was the only free library in Newton.

In 1875 the library was removed to still more spacious quarters, a reading-room was opened and a daily delivery established. The directors were led to this by the action of the town, which in town- meeting had adopted, upon the petition of the Athenæum and upon the recommendation of the Hon. J. Wiley Edmands, the policy of appropriating money in aid of free incorporated libraries. The city government endorsed and continued this policy until, in 1876, it assumed the entire support of the Newton Free Library at Newton (Corner), since which time it has ceased to do anything for the West Newton Library. It has, however, for several years paid a part of the expenses of the reading-room.

The library contains (in 1890) 5500 volumes, and is especially strong in history, biography and travels. The annual deliveries range from 8000 to 12,000, be- sides from 4000 to 4500 volumes which are distributed by the Athenaeum as the agent of the Newton Free Library.

THE NEWTON CLUB .- Early in April, 1887, a cir- enlar was addressed by Mr. Austin R. Mitchell to some forty or fifty gentlemen, requesting them to meet at his residence, Walnut Street, Newtonville, to con- sider the advisability of forming a social club for Newton. The project was not a new one, as several previous attempts to form a social club, which should embrace in its membership gentlemen from all parts of Newton, had been made, but none with success.

The present, however, seemed ripe for such a pro- ject. The Newton Circuit Railroad had recently been completed, rendering communication between the dif- ferent sections of the city easy and expeditious, and the "Roberts House," so-called, the historic mansion formerly occupied by General Hull, had lately changed hands and become available for club purposes, for which use its large and numerous rooms and close proximity to the railroad station made it peculiarly fit.

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The greater part of those receiving Mr. Mitchell's circular attended at his house on the evening of April 12, 1887, and it was unanimously decided to attempt the formation of a club. A committee of twenty-two was appointed to secure an act of incorporation from the Legislature, and also to take all other necessary preliminary steps.

The act of incorporation was signed by Governor Ames May 26, 1887, and the club immediately organ- ized. The first officers to serve the club were as fol- lows: President, Royal M. Pulsifer; Vice-Presidents, William Claflin, Robert R. Bishop, Isaac T. Burr, Levi C. Wade; Secretary, Edward W. Cate; Treas- urer, Francis A. Dewson; Executive Committee, Henry E. Cobb, Prescott C. Bridgham, William M. Bullivant, Moses G. Crane, Edward H. Mason, Wil- liam J. Follett, J. Edward Hollis, Samuel L. Powers, John W. Carter, Arthur C. Walworth ; Committee on Elections, Lewis E. Coffin, George F. Churchhill, George L. Lovett, Henry C. Churchill, Eben Thomp- son, Harry W. Mason, Sydney Harwood, Austin R. Mitchell, Frederick L. Felton, James W. French.

The Roberts House was at once leased, but it was not until the following October that the necessary al- terations in it and its furnishing were completed. On the evening of December 19, 1887, the club-house was formally opened with a reception, which was at- tended by some three or four hundred of the most prominent citizens of Newton. While the member- ship of the club is composed exclusively of gentlemen, it has always been the policy of its management to extend its privileges in some degree to ladies. With this end in view, a number of entertainments have been given each winter in the club-house parlors, and a reception has become an annual feature. The club is now in its third year; its membership has steadily increased, and includes many of the best- known and most influential residents of the city, and gives promise of being a permanent feature in the social life of Newton.

NEWTON CIVIL SERVICE REFORM ASSOCIATION .- The Newton Civil Service Reform Association had its origin in a suggestion made by Rev. Henry Lan- bert at a meeting of the West Newton Book Club, held April 1, 1881. At this meeting Messrs. Henry Lambert, E. P. Bond and N. T. Allen were appointed a committee to secure the co-operation of other citi- zens of the ward in forming a civil service reform organization. In accordance with a notice published in the West Newton Transcript, and signed by these gentlemen aud twenty-two others, a meeting was held at the City Hall, West Newton, April 20, 1881, at which was adopted a preamble and constitution for the " West Newton Civil Service Reform Association." The organization started with nearly eighty members and the following list of officers : President, Rev. Henry Lambert; vice-presidents, Rev. Increase N. Tarbox, Henry A. Inman ; treasurer, John J. Eddy ; secretary, Fisher Ames; directors, Thomas B. Fitz,

F. F. Raymond (2d), Arthur Carroll, Alfred L. Bar- bonr.

At the annual meeting, April 24, 1882, the name of the society was changed to the "Newton Civil Ser- vice Reform Association." Since that time it has aimed to make its lists of members and officers repre- sentative, as near as may be, of the entire city.

The officers elected at the annual meeting April 22, 1889, were: President, Rev. IIenry Lambert; vice- presidents, Leverett Saltonstall, John S. Farlow, Ed- win B. Haskell, Robert R. Bishop, Wm. P. Ellison, Edwin P. Seaver, Nathaniel T. Allen; treasurer, Stephen Thacher; secretary, James P. Tolman; di- rectors. Thomas B. Fitz, Edward P. Bond, F. F. Ray- mond (2d), H. E. Bothfeld. The number of members December, 1889, was 127.

The association, by its executive committee, has adopted and published resolutions on many occasions of moment in the progress of the reform. It has usually sent several representatives to the meetings of the National Civil Service Reform League, and has always sent delegates to the Massachusetts League; has each year contributed to the support of the National League, and has distributed the litera- ture of the reform very freely among its members and others.

In 1885 the association published and circulated a historical sketch of the movement, in the form of a pamphlet, by President Lambert, entitled "The Prog- ress of Civil Service Reform in the United States."

In behalf of the association the executive commit- tee has frequently addressed letters of inquiry to public officers and candidates for office. Its corre- spondence with Hon. John W. Chanler, then Rep- sentative to Congress from the district, led to the organization of the independent movement which elected Hon. Theodore Lyman to Congress in the fall of 1882, and apparently much hastened the pas- sage of the National Civil Service Act in January, 1883.

PINE FARM SCHOOL .- In the year 1863 a farm containing about twenty-five acres on Chestnut Street, corner of Fuller, West Newton, was purchased and fitted as a home for boys living in such exposed and neglected circumstances as to be likely to fall into vicious habits.

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. III, Part 27

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co Number of Pages: 1278

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1278