USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newburyport > History of Newburyport, Mass., 1764-1905, Volume I > Part 6
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April 2, 1771, some of the inhabitants of Marblehead pe- titioned the General Court for the erection of one or more light- houses on or near Cape Ann. In answer to this petition the General Court appointed a committee, consisting of Capt. Nathaniel Allen, John Erving, Esq,, Capt. Patrick Tracy, and others, to select a suitable place, and to build the lighthouses if necessary. The committee recommended the purchase of Thacher's island by the province of Massachusetts Bay, and their recommendation was adopted and two lighthouses were erected there in 1772.5
In 1783, two beacons were erected on Plum island to aid shipmasters and pilots and enable them to take vessels safely over the bar into the harbor of Newburyport.
The commissary-general of the state of Massachusetts, " with Messieurs William Coombs, Michael Hodge & William
1 Mass. Archives (Court Records), vol. IX., p. 260.
2 Mass. Archives (Court Records), vol. IX., p. 304.
3 Mass. Archives (Court Records), vol. IX., p. 476; also, vol. X., pp. 35, 74, and 90.
4 Mass. Archives (Court Records), vol. X., p. 113.
5 Province Laws, vol. V., p. 148.
The island on which these lighthouses were built was granted to Mr. Anthony Thacher March 9, 1636-7, " vpon wch hee was p'served from shipwrack." See History of Newbury (Currier), P 33, note .
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LIGHTHOUSES
Bartlett of Newburyport," was authorized by the General Court, in 1787, "to build two small wooden light houses on the north end of Plumb Island " to be supported and main- tained from funds provided for that purpose, debts previously contracted, however, to be first discharged ; " but if any person or persons will advance money for the support of said lights to be erected as aforesaid, the commissary-general is directed to charge the money so advanced to the said funds."I
The merchants of Newburyport voluntarily contributed the sum needed, in order to avoid a long delay, and the light- houses were probably built during the following summer.
LIGHTHOUSE, 1860.
[September 17, 1787] Voted to grant leave to Mr. Wm Bartlet & oth- ers to appoint a man to live in and take care of the Fort & lights on Plumb Island at the expense of said Bartlett & others agreeable to their petition.2
There was evidently some doubt in regard to the right of the town to grant the prayer of the petitioners, and the above vote was therefore reconsidered, slightly modified, and then re- adopted as follows :---
[September 17, 1787] Voted to grant Mr. Wm Bartlet & others con- cern'd in Navigation all the liberty that the Town has a right to grant for said Bartlet & others to appoint a man to live in & take care of the Fort on Plumb Island at the expense of the Gentlemen concerned in Naviga- tion as stated in their petition.2
1 " Ould Newbury, " p. 214-215.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 497.
" The Essex Journal and New Hampshire Packet" announced April 2, 1788, that two lighthouses had been erected on the north end of Plum island, and that three small houses had been built on the east side of the island for the convenience of seamen cast ashore there. American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.
68
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
June 10, 1790, the General Court passed an act ceding the lighthouses, and the land under and adjoining the same, to the United States. Since that date they have been main- tained by the Federal government. One of the lighthouses was destroyed by fire August 8, 1856; the other, in connec- tion with a low movable light was used for twenty-five or thirty years longer, when it was taken down and a new light- house erected.
The half-tone print on the preceding page gives a view of
LIGHTHOUSE, 1905.
the old lighthouse ; the half-tone print on this page gives a view of the lighthouse now standing.
LOCATION OF WATCH HOUSE.
In 1773, the lower part of the town house, on Fish, now State street, was used as a watch house.1 During that year, or the year following, a new watch house was erected on the northeasterly side of what is now known as Market square.
1 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 169.
69
SLAVES AND SLAVEHOLDERS.
The plan of Market Square landing, copied from the town records, gives the exact location of the building on the thirtieth day of January, 1775.1
One article in the warrant for a town meeting to be held in Newburyport, March 20, 1787, reads as follows :-
To see if the Town will give Mr. Andrew Frothingham liberty to move, at his own expense, the watch house now standing on the Town's land near the Rev. Mr Cary's meeting house, . to some more suitable and convenient place or situation belonging to the Town.2
March 18, 1788, the selectmen were requested "to move the watch house on the Towns Land near where the work house now stands."3
SLAVES AND SLAVEHOLDERS.
Although the number of slaves in Newburyport was never very large the purchase and sale of negro men and women, brought from the Barbadoes and other islands in the West Indies, for some of the prominent inhabitants of the town, was not considered illegal or disreputable previous to the close of the Revolutionary war.
In 1774, Deacon Benjamin Colman, of Newburyport, vigor- ously denounced " the unnatural and unwarrantable custom of enslaving mankind " and occasionally an industrious colored servant ran away from his master or boldly refused to obey his orders.
" Caesar a mullato man, otherwise called Caesar Hendrick, laborer," in March, 1773, brought a suit against Richard Greenleaf, Esq., of Newburyport, " for false imprisonment and restraint in servitude as the said Richard's slave."
This case was the first one involving the rights and duties of master and slave brought in the court of common pleas in Essex county, and the question in dispute was interesting and important. It was tried in Newburyport September 28, 1773. Daniel Farnham, attorney-at-law, offered the follow-
1 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 236. For this plan see chapter III.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 476.
3 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 509.
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HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
ing bill of sale as evidence that Cæsar was the property of his client, Richard Greenleaf :-
Know all Men by these Presents That I Joseph Woodbridge of Newbury in the county of Efsex and Province of the Mafsachusetts Bay, Boatbuilder In consideration of the Sum of Sixty Six pounds thirteen Shillings and four pence lawful Money to me in hand paid by Richard Greenleaf of the same Newbury Gentleman Do hereby Grant and sell to the said Richard Greenleaf my molatto Slave Cæfar of about Sixteen years of age. To have and To hold the said molatto Slave To him the said Richard Greenleaf his heirs afsigns Execrs & admrs as an abfolute eftate forever free from any manner of Incumbrance and to be his & their Slave & Servant during his Natural Life. And I the sd Joseph for my self my Execrs & admrs Do hereby covenant wth the said Richard Greenleaf his Execrs & admrs that I have good Right to sell and Dispose of the molatto aforesd to him in manner as aforesaid and that I will warrant and defend him against the claims of any Person whatsoever. In Testi- mony wherof I have hereunto put my hand and Seal this Twelfth Day of December 1754
Signed Sealed and Delivd
In the Presence of
John Knight Benjamin Woodbridge
Joseph Woodbridge [SEAL][
John Lowell, Esq., afterwards a justice of the United States circuit court for the district of Massachusetts, counsel for Cæsar, obtained a verdict in his favor, and damages were awarded by the court, amounting to eighteen pounds. From this decision Richard Greenleaf appealed, October 2, 1773, to the supreme court of judicature in the county of Essex, but, probably, he did not consider it advisable to continue the contest, as no further action was taken in regard to it, according to the records of that court.
William Davenport, innkeeper and owner of Wolfe tavern, died September 2, 1773. A negro woman, valued at three pounds and a negro child, valued at seven pounds, were ap- praised with merchandise, household furniture, West India rum, etc., when the inventory of his estate was made on the third day of October following.2
1 From the Docket and Court Files, Salem, Mass.
"Ould Newbury," p. 501.
71
SLAVES AND SLAVEHOLDERS
In the Essex Gazette, published in Salem October 18-25, 1774, is the following advertisement :-
Run away from Jofeph Leathers, of Newbury-Port, this morning, a Negro Man named Charleftown, about 21 Years of Age, about 5 Feet, 6 Inches high, fpeaks good Englifh ; one of his Fingers made crooked and ftiff by Means of a Fellon ; had on a blue Jacket, white Breeches, and a Bilboa Cap. Whoever fecures him, fo that I may have him again, fhall have Six Dollars Reward, all neceffary Charges paid.
Newbury-Port, Oct. 24, 1774.
Joseph Leathers.I
Jonathan Jackson, a wealthy and influential citizen of New- buryport, built in 1771, or in 1772, the Dexter house on High street now owned and occupied by Nathaniel G. Pierce, Esq. Before the declaration of independence was signed he gave " to his negro man Pomp," who afterwards served in the Con- tinental army, the following certificate or bill of sale :-
Know all men by these Presents that I Jonathan Jackson of Newbury Port in the County of Essex, Gentleman, in Consideration of the Impro- priety I feel & have long felt, in holding any Person in Constant Bond- age more especially at a time when my Country is so warmly contending for the liberty every man ought to enjoy, and having some time since promised my negro man Pomp that I would give him his Freedom, and in further consideration of five shillings paid me by said Pomp, do here- by liberate, manumit, & set him free, and I do hereby from the date of these Presents remise & release unto the said Pomp all Demands of whatever nature I have against the said Pomp. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my Hand and Seal this nineteenth day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred & seventy-six
Sign'd, seal'd & deliver'd in
the presence of Jona Jackson 2
Mary Coburn, William Noyes
In June, 1781, three suits, involving the right to hold slaves in Massachusetts, were commenced in the inferior court of common pleas for the county of Worcester. From the ver- dict rendered by the jury, in the cases tried at that term of the court, an appeal was taken to the superior court held in
· 1 Newspaper Files, Essex Institute, Salem, Mass.
2 Probate Records of Suffolk county, vol. 75, p. 36 (72); " Ould Newbury," p. 565.
72
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
Worcester in the month of September following. The final judgment put an end to slavery within the limits of the state.I Some slaves, however, were not anxious to escape from bond- age, and remained in submission to their masters until released by death.
Patrick Tracy in his will, dated October 16, 1788, and proved April 6, 1789, gave to the children of his son, Nathan- iel Tracy, several acres of land opposite the burying-ground in Newburyport with the following restrictions :-
I hereby reserve to my faithful black man Apropos a right to dwell with his family in the house now standing upon my land or field afore- said, by the burying Place, in which he now dwells, and also a Right during his the said Apropos natural Life to improve the Garden adjoining his said dwelling House which Rights, free of any Rent, I hereby give and confirm to him, the said Apropos, during his own Life and no longer.2
He also gave " to the said Apropos " six pounds a year to be paid in instalments on the first day of January, May and September of each year.
And further I hereby enjoin it upon my children that when and so far as the said Apropos is incapacitated from acquiring his subsistence, and that with comfort, that they equally join in assisting him to render his life comfortable and this I expect from my children as they value my injunc- tions or shall respect my memory.2
SMALLPOX AND OTHER CONTAGIOUS DISEASES.
In 1776, smallpox was again prevalent in Newbury and Newburyport. The hospitals at Plum island and in the great
1 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. IV., First series, p. 203; Ibid., vol. I., Fourth series, p. 90; Ibid., vol. IV., Fourth series, pp. 323-346.
" The strongest expression in the Constitution, perhaps, is the opening declara- tion of the Bill of Rights, that 'all men are born free and equal', &c. Nor can too much credit be ascribed to the Hon. John Lowell in procuring the insertion of this clause, since it took from the Legislature the power of ever legalizing slavery without a radical amendment, by the people, of the organic law of the Common- wealth. But it will be perceived that the advocate for the slave, in their case, rested his claim upon the incompatibility of slavery with our condition as a peo- ple, quite as much as upon any new right declared or sustained by the Constitution. Indeed, there is nothing in the Constitution which expressly abrogates, or even recognizes slavery as an existing political institution." Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. IV., Fourth series, p. 340.
2 Essex Probate Records, vol. 360, p. 98.
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SMALLPOX AND OTHER CONTAGIOUS DISEASES
pasture were repaired and made ready for immediate use. On the second day of April, John Lowell, Tristram Dalton, Abel Greenleaf and Jonathan Marsh, four of the selectmen of New- buryport, sent the following notice to Jonathan Call and James Kettell, constables :-
As this Town have occasion for the use of their house on Plumb Island where Joseph Bootman and others dwell, you are directed to give the said Bootman, & whoever else you may find there, notice immediately to leave the said House and in case they refuse so to do you are forthwith to remove them therefrom.I
The next day constable Kettle was ordered to take a man sick with the smallpox, from the schooner Polly, and place him in charge of a competent nurse in the house on Plum island.I
At a meeting of the selectmen of Newbury and Newbury- port, held on the seventeenth day of July following, at the house of Dudley Colman, it was agreed to put up gates at the bridges over Parker river and employ a sufficient number of men to guard them.
The gate & guard at Old Town Bridge to be kept and maintained at the expense of Newburyport, the gate and guard at Thirlow's Bridge to kept & maintained at the expense of the town of Newbury.
The guard to be kept at the Pest House in the great pasture to be paid equally by the towns of Newbury & Newburyport.I
The following instructions were sent by the selectmen of Newburyport to John Bootman who was employed to guard the " Old Town Bridge :"-
You are to attend the gate from sunrise to nine of the clock in the evening : when you retire to rest lock the gate ; you are to lodge in ye small shop near the Bridge that you may hear easily if any person comes in the night and wants a passage.I
November 13, 1780, the inhabitants of Newburyport voted to remove the hospital from Plum island,2 and September 17, 1781, the overseers of the poor were instructed to examine " the house bro't up from Plum Island" and ascertain the cost of
1Newburyport (Selectmen's) Records.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 340.
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HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
repairing it.' On the sixteenth day of May following, the selectmen were directed " to sell the materials bro't up from Plum Island belonging to the Pest House."2
April 16, 1782, the constables of Newburyport were noti- fied by the selectmen to remove "to the Pest House in Com- mon Pasture " all persons infected with the smallpox, and to prohibit vessels from coming up to the wharves of the town without permission of the health officer. For the purpose of carrying this order into effect, pilots bringing vessels into the harbor were required to anchor them below Black Rocks for examination.3
On the thirteenth day of May, Zebedee and Elias Hunt, owners of the brig Vulture, were ordered to procure a small vessel and take the crew and passengers of the brig, infected with the smallpox, to Rainsford island in Boston harbor. Two days later this order was modified and the sick men were taken on board a small vessel and carried up Black Rocks creek, as far as possible from the shipping at anchor in the river.3
Stephen Swasey, constable, was directed, September 6, 1784, to fumigate and thoroughly cleanse the ship Count de Grasse and take the passengers from said ship to Kent's landing and thence by the most convenient route to the small- pox hospital in Common pasture.3
At a meeting held March 10, 1784, the ability of " widow Mercy Greenleaf " to pay for medicine, food and nurses fur- nished members of her family, " whilst sick with the smallpox at the pest house," was brought to the attention of the town, and a committee was appointed to ascertain the facts and re- port at an adjourned meeting.4
A small amount of personal property and real estate to the value of five or six hundred pounds was found in the posses- sion of Mrs. Greenleaf, and the selectmen were thereupon
' Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 364.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 385.
3 Newburyport (Selectmen's) Records.
4 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 419.
75
SMALLPOX AND OTHER CONTAGIOUS DISEASES
requested to call upon her " for the Repayment of the moneys expended by the Town."1
In 1788, smallpox was again prevalent in Newbury and Newburyport, [and the voluntary inoculation of persons in health, with the most virulent form of the disease, became more and more frequent, although looked upon with disfavor by many of the inhabitants of the two towns.
On the eighth day of May, the family of Jonathan Plummer, having been granted liberty, by the town of Newbury, to use the hospital in Common pasture " for inoculation by small- pox," the selectmen of Newburyport insisted that the use of the building for that purpose was illegal and detrimental to the public health. The subject was brought to the attention of the inhabitants of Newburyport at a meeting held May sixteenth, and it was then voted :-
If any person or persons shall be inoculated, or shall inoculate others for the Smallpox, the selectmen of this town are desired to prosecute them, in the law, for such offence on behalf and at the expense of this Town.2
The selectmen were also instructed to take such steps and
1 A story, founded on the facts above stated, entitled " Widow Greenleaf's Debt " was published in the Boston Evening Transcript, Saturday, March 19, 1898, but the details of the call, made by the selectmen, at the house of widow Greenleaf are evidently fictitious and manufactured " from such stuff as dreams are made of."
According to the story, the worthy officials representing the town were re- ceived by the widow with marked respect, ushered into the room where her hus- band had died of smallpox and told they might take the money they demanded from beneath the bed-tick that had not been washed or cleansed since his death.
" Mercy, who was by the bedside, quickly threw the outer covers directly over Mr. Titcomb's head. This was more than flesh could stand, and wigless, he made a rush for the door and open air, muttering prayers and curses, strangely mingled, as fear and rage took possession of him. Just as he fled another cover- let came waving toward the next selectman, who dodged it and jumped for the door. The others not knowing exactly why, but being filled with the one idea of escape, came rushing after, like a flock of sheep, tumbling over each other in the narrow hall. Mercy dropped the covers and ran to the door, calling after the retreating figures : " The tick's uncovered, and one of you gentlemen's left a wig."
It appears from the town records that Newburyport had only five selectmen in 1784, instead of eight as stated by the author of the story referred to above, and Mr. Titcomb was not one of that number. Other details of the story are not in harmony with the recorded facts and were probably supplied, arranged and ad- justed to excite curiosity and especially to give an appearance of reality to an amusing and fictitious narrative. The selectmen who were chosen and served for one year from March 10, 1784, were Col. Edward Wigglesworth, Capt. David Coats, Capt. William Coombs, Capt. Michael Hodge and Mr. William Bartlett.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 520.
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HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
adopt such rules and regulations as they might consider nec- essary to prevent the spread of smallpox and other contagious diseases in the town.
In 1793, the inhabitants of Newburyport were alarmed by the report that the regulations were inefficient.
On the twenty-third day of September, Capt. Joseph Noyes was appointed health officer and ordered to detain below Black Rocks all vessels arriving from foreign ports until they could be examined and thoroughly disinfected ; and on the fourteenth day of October following a special committee was chosen to select a suitable place for a new and more commo- dious hospital for the accommodation of persons who desired to be inoculated with smallpox.2
At a meeting held November 8, 1793, the inhabitants of Newburyport voted that the hospital then building in Common pasture should be furnished with chairs, tables, bedsteads and bedding and made ready for immediate use. Dr. Charles Coffin, Jr., was employed to take charge of the hospital.
One man at least shall constantly be kept by the physician as a guard to keep off intruders and to see that the patients conduct themselves agreeably to the rules and regulations prescribed.3
All persons wishing to be inoculated were requested to ap- ply to the physician in charge of the hospital.4 The inhabi- tants of Newburyport were expected to pay a nominal sum for medicine and nursing, and two dollars additional was collected for the use of the hospital from every patient residing else- where. March 7, 1794, the selectmen reported a list of more than fifty persons, living in Newbury, Rowley and neighbor- ing towns, who had paid the fee and been admitted to the privileges of the hospital.1 After the tenth day of April, how- ever, the alarm created by the prevalence of the disease sub- sided, and nurses and physicians were discharged, but persons wishing to be inoculated were granted the free use of the hos- pital by the selectmen.
1 Newburyport (Selectmen's) Records.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 79.
3 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 81.
4 Essex Journal and New Hampshire Packet, Nov. 20, 1793.
77
HAY SCALES
THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES.
This association, established for the cultivation and promo- tion of the arts and sciences, was the first scientific society in- corporated in the state of Massachusetts and, with the excep- tion of the American Philosophical society of Philadelphia, the first within the present limits of the United States.
Tristram Dalton, Jonathan Jackson, John Lowell, The- ophilus Parsons, Oliver Prescott, Micajah Sawyer, Dr. John Barnard Sweat and Nathaniel Tracy of Newburyport, with some of the prominent citizens of Boston, Salem and other towns in the commonwealth were made " a body politic and incorporated " by an act of the General Court May 4, 1780."
According to the articles of association the society was or- ganized "to promote and encourage medical discoveries, math- ematical disquisitions, philosophical enquiries and experi- ments ; astronomical, meteorological and geographical observa- tions ; improvements in agriculture, arts, manufactures and commerce ; and, in fine, to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity and happi- ness of a free, independent and virtuous people."
The society has published fifty or sixty volumes on scientif- ic subjects and is still actively engaged in philosophical and astronomical research. It has a library of twenty-six thousand volumes, and a few interesting and valuable portraits, now in the Massachusetts Historical Society building on Boylston street, Boston.
HAY SCALES.
In March, 1685, the inhabitants of Newburyport voted to build, at the expense of the town, scales capable of weighing a wagon load of hay, grain or other agricultural produce, and appointed a committee to select a suitable location. On the twen- ty-ninth day of March, this committee recommended that land belonging to the town " at the northwesterly end of Frog Pond near where the Rope walk formerly stood, about five rods from
1 Province Laws, vol. V., p. 1194.
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HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
the land belonging to the heirs of Daniel Farnham, Esq., deceased," be set apart and used for the accommodation of the hay scales until otherwise ordered.1 August 15, 1785, the selectmen paid Thomas Harvey eighteen pounds " for materials used in building the hay scales."
The frame that supported the formidable structure was made of wood, high enough and wide enough, to admit a wagon loaded with hay. From a large overhead beam, heavy chains came down to the ground. When these chains were fastened beneath the wagon the whole load was raised by means of blocks and falls, so that it swung clear and its weight could be easily ascertained.
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