USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Newton > History of Newton, Massachusetts : town and city, from its earliest settlement to the present time, 1630-1880 > Part 52
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I desire the Honored Council to pardon my boldness, and let the case of conscience be discussed orderly, before the King be asked. Cover my weakness, and weigh the reason and religion that laboreth in this great case of conscience. JOHN ELIOT.
536
HISTORY OF NEWTON.
About three months subsequently, seven Indians were sold, "to be transported to any place out of this continent," by the Treas- urer of the Colony.
The merchants of Massachusetts never engaged in the African slave trade to any considerable extent. In 1703 a duty of four pounds was laid on every negro imported. Not more than three ships in a year were ever engaged in the African trade, and slaves bought in Africa were sold either in the Southern colonies or in the West Indies. Very few entire cargoes were ever introduced. Some of the vessels sold the best specimens in the West Indies, and brought the residue to Boston, which is said to be the only seaport in Massachusetts ever dishonored by this trade. The trade declined at about the date of the Stamp Act, and in 1788 it was prohibited by law.
The above notices have reference to the Commonwealth of Mas- sachusetts, and not to any single town. It is an honor to Newton, that in her old families of aristocratic wealth and breeding, the rights of men were generally respected. Preeminently has the name of Jackson been gloriously identified with resistance to all oppression, and the advocacy of the cause of human freedom. Slavery, as administered by the fathers of Newton, was patri- archal, rather than selfish and tyrannical ; and it was no sooner found existing on this soil, than it showed signs of decay. The Declaration of Rights in the Constitution of Massachusetts, adopted in 1780,-that " all men are born free and equal,"- con- tained in itself the seeds of universal liberty and equality. And such seed, planted in Massachusetts, could not fail to bring forth its legitimate fruit.
A census was taken by order of Government, in the end of 1754 and beginning of 1755, from which it appears that the num- ber of slaves in Massachusetts, at that date, was about 2,570. Of these, 1,270 were in Boston; the number returned for Newton was ten males and three females.
In 1763 there were in Massachusetts 5,214 colored inhabitants ; in 1776, 5,249 ; in 1784, 4,377. Slaves were in the largest num- bers, previous to 1763. An intelligent colored man, advanced in life, affirmed that Boston contained one-fourth part of all of them. In country towns, he never heard of more than three or four on a farm, except in one case, where there were sixteen. Those in Boston were employed as rope-makers, anchor-makers,
537
SLAVERY.
ship-carpenters or servants in families. It is said that negro chil- dren were reckoned as incumbrances, and were often given away. Negroes were taxed as ratable property. Some of them purchased their freedom, and some were liberated by their masters ; but the law was against manumission, unless the master gave bonds for the maintenance of those set at liberty, in case of sickness or decrepitude. If found abroad after nine o'clock, P. M., they were sent to the House of Correction. A negro striking a white man was liable to be sold out of the province.
The controversy concerning slavery and its abolition began as: early as 1766, and was warmly pursued for several years in pam- phlets, speeches and newspaper articles. In 1767, an effort was made in the Massachusetts Legislature to discourage slavery, but with- out avail. In 1773, the subject was again brought forward, through a petition of the colored population. In 1774, an Act was passed by the Assembly forbidding the importation of slaves, but Gov- ernor Hutchinson vetoed it. After the adoption of the Constitu- tion in 1780, several asked for their freedom, and obtained it. Some took it without leave. Many, who were aged and feeble, continued in the families where they had been owned.
The slavery which existed in Massachusetts was, however, with- out doubt, a less galling yoke than the slavery of the Southern States. No such slave code ever blackened the legislation of the former, as that which formed the acknowledged system of the lat- ter, and in families where slaves were found, they were most often treated with the tenderness due to children, and the compassion- ate consideration dealt out to the unfortunate and the suffering. The heart of Massachusetts never harbored the spirit of tyranny towards the black man because of the hue of his skin. The slave was protected by legal enactment from the possible cruelty of the- master. In 1781, an indictment was found against a white man in Worcester county for assaulting, beating and imprisoning his slave. He was tried in the Supreme Judicial Court in 1783. His defence was that the black was his slave, and that the disci- pline was necessary correction. But his defence was met by the clause of the Constitution which asserts that "all men are born free and equal." The judges and jury decided that he had no right to beat or imprison the negro, and the master was found. guilty, and fined forty shillings. This decision, it is said, was the death-blow of slavery in Massachusetts.
538
HISTORY OF NEWTON.
SLAVES AND SLAVE-HOLDERS IN NEWTON.
The following are the names of the slaves held in Newton to- gether with their owners, so far as they can be ascertained.
OWNER.
SLAVES.
REMARKS.
James Barton, d. 1729,
Jemme,
Tom,
Dinah,
Negro Girl,
Died, 1754.
Thomas Brown,
Job Comocho (Ind'n),
Charley,
Died, 1755.
Rev. John Cotton, d. 1757,
Quartus,
Went into the King's service
Edward Jackson, d. 1757,
Cato,
An incumbrance, Appraised at &13 13s. 4d. 66 £30 13s. 4d.
Jonathan Jackson, d. 1810,
Pomp,
Freed, June, 1776. Died 1822.
Rev. Edward Jackson, d. 1754,
wife, S
Valued at $430.
Capt. Caleb Kenrick. d. 1771,
Died 1786.
Capt. Thomas Prentice, d.
( "Negro slave,"
1781. Valued at $90.
1730,
"Servant boy,"
$15.
Dea. William Trowbridge, d. 1744,
Lewis,
Born 1736.
Nancy,
Tillo (Othello),
An incumbrance.
Gen. William Hull estate, Daniel Cooke, d. 1754,
Pompey,
Valued at $375.
Tidy,
Obtained, by his will, free- dom and 40 shillings.
Capt. Joshua Fuller, d. 1777,
Cæsar Mingo,
1742.
Phillis,
Boston,
( Negro man, {
Abigail, Rose,
( Negro man,
Very probably there were other slave-holders in Newton, of whose ownership in their fellow-men no record remains. The last rem- nant of slavery was Tillo (Othello), a life-long incumbrance of the estate of General William Hull. He died in Newton, and is buried beside his former master, in the Cemetery on Centre Street. This slave, as he was known in his old age, seemed to live a very inde- pendent life, laboring only so much as was agreeable to him. He was wholly uncultivated intellectually, and it is said could never be taught to read. He attended the Sabbath School in the time of Dr. Homer's later ministry, and during Divine service used to occupy a seat in one of the negro pews that adorned the southeast and northeast corners of the audience-room in the old church (the church of 1805), above the choir.
Considerable trade was formerly carried on between Massachu- setts and Barbadoes. Several families from this Commonwealth settled in that island for purposes of trade. Among them was that of William Spring, brother of Lieutenant John Spring, one of the first settlers of Newton. William Spring died in Barbadoes about
539
SLAVERY.
1695. It is most likely that negro slaves were first introduced here by means of that connection with the West Indies. Gov- ernor Bradstreet, in a letter to the Lords of the Privy Council, writes,-
There hath been no company of blacks or slaves brought into the country since the beginning of this Plantation for the space of fifty years ; only one small vessel, about two years since, after twenty months' voyage to Mada- gascar, brought hither betwixt forty and fifty negroes, mostly women and children, which sold here for ten, fifteen and twenty pounds apiece, which stood the merchants in near forty pounds apiece, one with another. Now and then two or three negroes are brought hither from Barbadoes and other of his Majesty's Plantations, and sold for about twenty pounds apiece ; so that there may be, within our government, about one hundred, or one hun- dred and twenty ; and, it may be, as many Scots, brought hither and sold for servants in the time of the war with Scotland, and most of them now mar- ried and living here; and about half as many Irish, brought hither at several times as servants.
On the Wills and Inventories, and the Record of Deaths extend- ing from 1681 to 1802, there are statements showing that within that period thirty-six slaves were owned in Newton by the follow- ing persons :
NAMES.
NO. VALUE.
NAMES.
NO. VALUE.
Edward Jackson, senior, (died 1681),
£10
Joshua Flagg (1802),
Judge Abraham Fuller (1794),
John Pigeon,
$430
Madame Gibbs (1783),
Capt. Joshua Fuller (1777),
£105
Alexander Shepard,
1
Edward Durant (1740),
3
Ebenezer Bartlett (1751),
1
Dr. John Allen (1750),
1
$375
Thomas Brown (1754),
1
Daniel Cooke (1754), Rev. John Cotton (1757), James Barton (1729),
Robert Brown (1754), Moses Mason,
1 1
Josiah Hall (1786),
Capt. Thomas Prentice (1710), Samuel Jackson, Esq. (1742), Rev. Edward Jackson (1754), Capt. John Jackson (1755), Capt. Thomas Prentice (1730), Capt. Caleb Kenrick (1771), Dea. William Trowbridge (1744),
2112122 4123
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CHAPTER XLII.
NEWTON THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTION. - ORIGIN. - THE MANSION
HOUSE .- FIRST ANNIVERSARY .- COLBY HALL .- OFFICERS OF
THE BOARD AND OF THE INSTITUTION .- SOME OF ITS FRUITS.
THE charter of the Newton Theological Institution was signed by his Excellency, Governor Levi Lincoln, February 22, 1826. The Trustees named in the Act of Incorporation were Joseph Grafton, Lucius Bolles, Daniel Sharp, Jonathan Going, Bela. Jacobs, Ebenezer Nelson, Francis Wayland, jr., Henry Jackson, clergymen, and Ensign Lincoln, Jonathan Bacheller, Nathaniel Ripley Cobb, laymen. The origin of the Institution may be dated from a meeting of ministers and other gentlemen from various parts of New England, held in May, 1825, in the vestry of the First Baptist church in Boston, then situated in Salem Street, near Stillman Street. At that meeting, it was resolved "that it is expedient to establish a Theological Institution in the vicinity of Boston," and the gentlemen present pledged themselves to use every suitable exertion towards the promotion of that object. The Massachusetts Baptist Education Society (afterwards, the North- ern Baptist Education Society) was founded in 1814,- an asso- ciation having for its object "to aid young men desirous of enter- ing the work of the ministry, in obtaining literary and theological information." This Society, up to 1823, had given aid to sixty- five beneficiaries. At the anniversary of the Society at the date above mentioned, the Executive Committee made the following report :
Besides attending to the ordinary duties, the past year, the committee have, in compliance with the recommendation of a large meeting of ministers and others convened in Boston, May 25, 1825, taken into consideration the establishment of a Theological Seminary in the vicinity of Boston. This measure has for many years been in contemplation. We are convinced that
540
SON-
NEWTON THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTION, NEWTON CENTRE.
541
THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTION.
the time has arrived to build this part of the Lord's house. Although attempts have been made to establish Theological departments in connection with two of our Colleges, and some success has attended them, yet we are of opinion that a Theological Institution, established by itself alone, where the combined powers of two or three or more men of experience, and men of God, can be employed in instructing and forming the manners and habits and character of pious young men for the work of the ministry, is greatly to be preferred. They have therefore appointed two sub-committees, one to draw up a general plan for an Institution, and inquire concerning a suitable place for its location, and the other to solicit donations and subscriptions.
After a free and harmonious interchange of views, it was resolved that an effort ought to be made to provide a Seminary for Theological education ; and the Executive Committee of the Edu- cation Society was requested to take initiatory steps towards the accomplishment of the object.
The committee proceeded at once to carry into execution the wishes of those by whom they had been elected. The late Rev. Irah Chase, having just resigned his position as Professor of Languages and Biblical Literature in the Columbian College at Washington, was provisionally appointed Professor of Biblical Theology. A site was purchased in Newton Centre, containing eighty-five acres, on elevated ground, and commanding one of the most delightful prospects in eastern Massachusetts. Upon the summit of the hill was a large dwelling-house with other buildings, adapted to a genteel country residence. The main edifice, long known as the "Mansion House," was of sufficient capacity for the immediate purposes of the Institution. The whole property, with a good title, was purchased for $4,250, a sum considerably less than would have been required for the erection of the build- ings, as they then existed. The necessary alterations in the Man- sion House were immediately made, at an expense of $3,748, thus rendering the original cost of the premises $7,998. This amount was procured by subscription as follows :
John B. Jones, Boston, $ 500.00
Ward Jackson, Boston, 500.00
Heman Lincoln, Boston, 500.00 Nathaniel R. Cobb, Boston, 1,070.15 Ann M. Lane, Boston, 100.00
Jonathan Carlton, Boston, 300.00
Ichabod Macomber, Boston, 300.00
Ensign Lincoln, Boston, 250.00
John Sullivan, Boston,
200.00
A friend, Boston, $ 1.00
Estate of Lydia Sparhawk,
Boston, 1,000.00
Jonathan Bixby, Newton, 50.00
Reuben Stone, Newton, 50.00
Josiah Bacon, Newton, 10.00
M. Davis, Newton, 6.00
Miss Bunding, Newton, 1.00
William Jackson, Newton, 50.00
542
HISTORY OF NEWTON.
John Tappan, Boston, $100.00
Levi Farwell, Cambridge, $1,070.15
Thomas Kendall, Boston,
100.00
Edward Bacon, Cambridge, 10.00
Elijah Mears, Boston, 25.00
Jonathan Bacheller, Lynn, 1,070.15
Jeremiah Fitch, Boston, 20.00
Elijah Corey, Brookline, 400.00
David R. Griggs, Boston, 50.00
E. & A. Winchester, Boston,
50.00
Ezra Chamberlain, Boston,
20.00
Norfolk and Middlesex Mis- sionary Society, 20.00
J. A. Lamson, Boston,
5.00
John H. Smith, Boston,
20.00
Samuel Beals, Boston,
50.00
$7,998.45
The property thus purchased was formerly known as the "Peck estate." At a later period, a small tract called the "Dr. King estate " was purchased, and added to the property of the Insti- tution.
The following interesting notes are from the pen of Rev. George W. Merrill, of Salem, who devoted much time and effort to the investigation of the history of the estate.
Mr. John Peck, of Boston, toward the close of the last century, married a. wealthy lady whose name was Gilman. Soon after the marriage, the lady's father died; her mother shared the home of the daughter, and her father's estate was administered by her husband. In the natural order of things, the guardianship of Mrs. Gilman's property passed into the hands of Mr. Peck.
For this family a large farm was bought in Newton, and the house, after- wards known as the Old Mansion House, was begun, probably, in the year 1798. The site was considered one of the most desirable in the vicinity of Boston. The aspect of the hill has changed since that day. I do not know whether the eastern slope was as bare of trees, as it is now, or not; but the western side was much more thickly wooded, and the southern slope as well. The view from the top, where the house was built, was much the same as now, with the exception that the surrounding towns and villages were com- paratively small, and therefore not so marked a feature of the landscape. The farm was within easy riding-distance of the city, and the stage-coach passed the foot of the hill daily, on its regular trips from Needham to Boston. and back again.
Probably the house was never counted finished; for Mr. Peck's professed ambition was to have the finest residence in all the region, and no efforts were spared to make it such; and workmen were almost constantly employed in new enterprises, or else in improving what had already been done. The rarest and most beautiful plants adorned the grounds, and the kitchen gar- den was especially famous. A fine avenue was graded at great expense from the high-road to the top of the hill, and shade-trees were planted on. each side of it (now Institution Avenue). In the execution of these plans the wealth of the family was soon found to be vanishing all too fast. Not. only Mr. Peck's property failed him, but that of the wife and mother-in-law was also greatly diminished. The further prosecution of the work ceased,
Eleanor Dana, Brighton, 100.00
543
THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTION.
and it was not long before the beauties of the place began to disappear. Then came on the war of 1812, and it was thought that perhaps the lost for- tune might be retrieved. The great prices paid for wool induced Mr. Peck, as well as many other gentlemen in the vicinity of Boston, to purchase sheep, and raise large flocks. Accordingly, the hill became a great pasture- ground. As many as five hundred sheep were owned by Mr. Peck at one time. But apparently the venture did not prosper; for the owner felt obliged to give up the estate, and, with the little property that remained to them, the family removed to the West. The misfortunes of Mr. Peck, in connection with the old house, gave rise to an ancient joke, ascribed to Rev. Mr. Grafton, then pastor of the First Baptist church. The house was called, at one time, in allusion to its breezy situation, crowned with a cupola, at the summit of the hill, a mill, that had ground one Peck, at least; it was only after several days of labor, that the historian discovered the origin of the joke, for only the first part of it, which asserted the house to be a mill, had survived in the memory of a few persons.
After its builder and first owner left the house, it was occupied by two or three families, before it came into the possession of the Corporation. Tra- dition speaks vaguely of one Tavener, as one of these tenants, and, with a more certain tone, of a family named Morrill, which held possession at the time of its purchase for the Institution. At this time there was a very high board-fence around that portion of the land afterwards known as " the farm." The estate contained at this time eighty-five acres.
Many changes have been made in the years that have intervened. The marks of the earliest alterations were long visible in many places. The tops of the old chimneys could be seen by any one curious enough to investigate the store-room under the roof. Two or three rooms for students, in the At- tic, were elegantly called "the crow's nest;" and the young nien who oc- cupied them used to assert that in windy days the occupants felt so sensibly the motion of the building, that it seemed to them like the swinging of the bird in its nest,- from which, perhaps, originated the name. It is not known when the secret winding stair-case between the walls was constructed, but doubtless it was when the house was first built; surely a Theological Insti- tution could have no occasion for ways so dark. The hall used for a dining- room, for many years, was extended, after the house was purchased for the Institution ; originally it reached only to the pillar in the middle of the room. Dr. Hackett's recitation-room was on the second floor, over the dining-room, and Dr. Hovey's on the second floor, over the apartment used as a chapel.
The Mansion House was demolished after the erection of Sturtevant Hall.
The first meeting of the Trustees, invested with the necessary powers as a body corporate, was held in Boston, March 13, 1826, at the house of the Rev. Dr. Sharp, when the Act of Incorpora- tion was formally accepted, a professorship of Bibical Theology established, and the Rev. Irah Chase, hitherto provisionally, now officially and unanimously, elected Professor. On the day when
544
HISTORY OF NEWTON.
the Institution was opened, many of the Trustees and others interested in its success, met at the house of Rev. Mr. Grafton, to invoke the blessing of Almighty God on the new enterprise.
Instruction was at first given by Professor Chase alone, Nov. 28, 1825, to the young men resorting to the Institution,- before the buildings on the Hill were ready for use,- in an old-fashioned tenement on Ward Street, formerly Brighton Street, a little west of the Harbach house ; this old tenement house was afterwards occupied by Mr. Walter Hill, and subsequently demolished. Until the houses for Professors were erected, Professor Chase resided chiefly in the Dr. King house, which stood at that time on land at the foot of Institution Hill, on the site of the house afterwards occupied by President Sears, and subsequently the property of Gustavus Forbes, Esq.
At the second meeting of the Trustees, held May 30, 1826, Professor Chase, from a committee previously appointed to pre- pare a Code of Rules and Regulations for the government of the Institution, made a report which was adopted. These Rules pro- vided, that -
The regular course shall occupy three years, and embrace Biblical Litera- ture, Ecclesiastical History, Biblical Theology, Pastoral Duties, and, in short, the various studies and exercises appropriate to a Theological Institu- tion, designed to assist those who would understand the Bible clearly, and, as faithful ministers of Christ, inculcate its lessons the most usefully.
The next meeting was held at Newton, September 14, 1826, when a Professorship of Bibical Literature and Pastoral Duties was established, and the Rev. Henry J. Ripley, then in Ricebor- ough, Georgia, was unanimously elected the Professor. On the same day was held the first anniversary of the Institution. The small company attending was easily accommodated in a recitation- room in the Mansion House. Two individuals - John E. Wes- ton and Eli B. Smith -read essays,* and received the Professor's certificate of graduation. Their course at Newton was short, for they had both been connected with other Institutions, - the former under the instruction of Professor Chase in the Theological Depart-
*The essay of Mr. Smith was entitled "Preaching Christ Crucified;" that of Mr. Weston, " The connection between a preacher's private life and his official min- istration." A person who was present on the occasion wrote thus: "These essays were, in our judgment, of uncommon value. They presented a union which we hope, will ever characterize the efforts of the students of this Institution, of just views and elevated piety."
dann affectionately / yours,
545
THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTION.
ment of the Columbian College, Washington, D. C.,- the latter at Andover. The next class in regular course graduated in 1828, and consisted of four, viz., George Leonard,, Thomas W. Merrill, Barnas Sears and Seth S. Whitman.
As the number of students increased, it became necessary to make further provision for their accommodation. Accordingly, in 1827, a committee was appointed to devise a plan for a new building, and also to procure the means for defraying the cost of it. In 1829, the Treasurer reported that such a building had been erected at an expense of $10,594.12, and paid for by subscrip- tions. Towards this amount the Hon. Nicholas Brown, of Provi- dence, gave $4,000, and the Treasurer, Hon. Levi Farwell, was also a liberal subscriber. The "Brick Building," since named "Farwell Hall," in honor of the first Treasurer of the Institution, was originally eighty-five feet in length, forty-nine feet in breadth, and three stories in height. It was greatly improved at an expense of about twelve thousand dollars in the year 1875 by the addition of the Mansard roof, which increases the number of rooms for students, and also by the introduction of steam heating apparatus. The Mansion House was used partly for recitation- rooms, chapel and the steward's department, and partly for the accommodation of students, until the year 1875, when, having become old and dilapidated, it was demolished. Two members of the Peck family, having heard that the building was to be taken down, journeyed from their residence in the West to take a fare- well view of the old home, and arrived just in season to witness the removal of the last timbers. It was from them that informa- tion of the date of the erection of the house was obtained. Colby Hall, which contains the Library, chapel and lecture-rooms, and Sturtevant Hall were subsequently erected at a cost of about forty thousand dollars each.
At the annual meeting of the Board, September 13, 1832, the Professorship held by Professor Ripley was divided, and the Rev. James Davis Knowles, pastor of the Second Baptist church (after- wards, Warren Avenue), in Boston, was elected Professor of Pas- toral Duties, and, on the 14th of November following, he was inaugurated by public services.
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