History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 184

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1534


USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 184


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" Beneath this noble roof we stand, Where skill has reared these massive walls, And beauty from our Father's hand Streams in where'er the sunlight falls.


" Here, as the years shall come and go, Proud Eloquence with lofty strain Shall set the listening heart aglow, And nerve to noble deeds again.


" Here Music, tuned to fine accord, From voices yet unborn, shall ring ; And grand, triumphant strains be poured From brazen throat and vibrant string.


"Here may the rich man and the poor Combine to wield the ballot's might ; Contend for truth which shall endure, And cancel every wrong with right.


" Long may our town's unsullied name Our fair and proud possession be, And none but honest patriots claim The honors of the brave and free."


جرات النامية


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871


BROOKLINE.


STATISTICAL ACCOUNT


Of the Industry and Products of the Town of Brookline for the year ending April 1, 1845.


2600 pairs of ladies' yarn hose, valued at. $1,200.00 525.00


Saddles and harness manufactured.


Wagons, sleighs, and other vehicles 4,000.00


Cabinet-ware manufactured. 300.00


3400 hides tanned, value of leather .. 17,300.00


Capital employed in tanneries.


24,000.00 3,520.00


612 pairs of boots and 210 pairs of shoes, valued at


163 cords of firewood, prepared for market.


270 horses, valued at.


63 pairs of oxen @ $85 per pair ..


256 cows, valued @ $25 each


362 swine.


1225 bushels of Indian corn


2036 bushels of rye


136 bushels of, barley


30,869 bushels of potatoes


1789 tons of hay


1508 pounds of butter.


1070 pounds of honey


1233 barrels of string beans @ $1.50.


2560 barrels of green peas @ $2.00


2288 barrels of cucumbers @@ 1.00


2074 barrels of beets @@ $1.25


1674 barrels of onions @@ $1.25


2,092.50


1222 barrels of parsnips @ 1.25


1,527.50


5220 barrels of green corn @@ $1.00


5,220.00


15,880 bushels of turnips @ $1.00


2,646.67


14} tons of peppers @ $60


847.50


204 tons of carrots @@ $8.


1,632.00 7,669.50


Celery and horse-radish valued at.


2,917.00


Early salads and greens valued at.


4,255.00


Melons of different varieties.


2,437.00


Asparagus ...


2,244.00


Shell beans and other small articles


575.00


FRUITS.


15,913 barrels of apples, valued at $1.25.


$19,891.25


691 barrels of pears


2,784.00


134 bushels of peaches @ $2


268.00


222 bushels of plums @ $3. 666.00


1539 bushels of cherries @@ $2.50


2,847.50


475 bushels of currants @ $2


950.00


250 bushels of quinces @ $2.


500.00


12,309 boxes of strawberries @ 20 cents.


2,461.80


4956 boxes of raspberries @@ 25 cents


1,239.00


12,470 pounds of grapes @ 50 cents.


6,235.00


110 tons of rye straw @@ Sto


1,100.00


1044 barrels of cider @@ $1 1,044.00


93.440 gallons of milk


15,573.33


Total


$212,635.69


CENSUS OF 1875.


Dwelling-houses 1095


Population .. 6675


Dwellings occupied. 1065


Ratable poll's. 1720


Dwellings unoccupied. 30


Legal voters ... 1247


Families 1338


Naturalized voters. 432


Males. 2962


Aliens. 315


Females 3713


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.


THOMAS GRIGGS.


ing line: Thomas (4), Ichabod (3), Joseph (2), Thomas (1).


We first find Thomas (1) an early inhabitant of Roxbury in 1639, whose wife was Mary, who died that year, leaving two sons, John and Joseph, and a | daughter, who died in 1645 at the age of twelve years. He married, second, Mary Green, Aug. 26, 1640. He died after a lingering sickness May 23, 1646. The inventory of his estate was made the 25th of the third month, 1646. He had an allotment of two parcels of land at Muddy River previous to 1639.


Joseph, the youngest son of Thomas and Mary Griggs, came from England ; born about 1625 ; became a member of the church in Roxbury June 20, 1653 ; freeman, May 18, 1653; married Mary, daughter of Griffin Crafts, of Roxbury. She died June 30, 1653. He then married Hannah, daughter of Samuel and Anna Davis, Nov. 8, 1654, and had eight children, viz. : (1) Samuel (born 1656, died 1657), (2) Mary (born 1657, died young), (3) Hannah (born 1659), (4) Joseph (born 1661), (5) Benjamin (born 1668), who removed to Connecticut, (6) Joanna (born 1672), (7) Ichabod (born Sept. 27, 1675), (8) Mary (born 1682). The mother died Jan. 9, 1683.


This family resided in what was known as " Rox- bury Precinct," or "Punch Bowl Village." The father died Feb. 10, 1714/15, aged ninety years. He joined with his brother in conveying land to Hugh Thomas Feb. 16, 1652,-land in Roxbury. He and his wife conveyed to John Hull land in that part of Muddy River called the "Common Field." Also land sold to George (Basto) Barstow, Feb. 23, 1699, in " Boston Fields," bordering on land of Edward and John Devotion, the well-known early settlers.


Mr. Griggs being an early resident of Muddy River, and being perfectly familiar with all the estates in and around his home and Roxbury, was once called upon to settle a dispute in reference to a division fence that used to run from about where " Chapel" Station now is, and so along the edge of the upper land, where was formerly a road leading to " Sewall's Fort." We give it as we find it, in the following deposition, dated Jan. 21, 1709 (Suffolk Records 24, p. 279) :


" Jos. Griggs, of Roxbury, aged about 85 years, testifieth and saith that about three score years since he settled at Muddy River, now called Brooklyne, and has lived there and at Rox- bury ever since, and in all that time has been very well ac- quainted with that tract of land, now in farms and propriety's, viz., Capt. Sewall, the late Deacon Elliotts, Devotions, Clarks, and others lying in Muddy River aforesaid, which was com- monly called a common field butting on the salt marishes. As to the fence, or enclosure of said common field this deponent very well remembers that those persons that owned the upland were at the whole and sole charge of the outside range of fence


Deacon Thomas Griggs, the son and fourth child of Samuel and Beulah (Hammond) Griggs, was born in Brookline, Mass., April 5, 1788, and is the sixth in descent from his paternal ancestor in the follow- . the marish owners refusing to pay any part of the charge, and


1995 bushels of tomatoes @ 50 cents.


997.50


296 tons of squashes @ $15


4,440.00


255,650 cabbages @@ 3 cents


25,046.00 271.44 214.00 1,834.50 5,120.00 2,283.00 2,592.50


1,059.50 20,400.00 5,355.00 6,400.00 5,430.00 857.50


1,425.20 84.40 12,347.60


872


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.


at a meeting of the upland and marish owners about forty years since the marish-men representing their design to fence the marish from the upland, desired the upland owners to do their proportion, but the upland owners utterly refused it for the reason above mentioned and told the marish owners that if they would fence out the marish they must do it at their own cost, and this depont has never known or understood that the upland owners ever bore any proportion of the charge of fencing off the marish, but that they did at all times maintain the outside range of fence, and the marish-men were at the charge of fencing the parish from the upland.


" JOSEPH GRIGGS, Jan. 21, 1709."


Mr. Griggs' name is also attached to a memorial with forty others, inhabitants of Roxbury, headed by the autograph of their pastor, Rev. John Eliot, ad- dressed as Christian patriots to the honored Governor and the Deputy Governor, together with the rest of the honored magistrates and House of Deputies of Massachusetts, requesting and encouraging the Gen- eral Court to stand fast in upholding the franchises of the people, and the liberties of the churches of that colony, then menaced by its enemies, and by the re- cently restored monarchy of England. He was a deputy to the General Court or representative of Rox- bury in 1681, and selectman of that town in 1677, 1680, 1683, 1687, and 1688.


As a member of that board he was active and effi- cient in procuring a grant of land from the Legisla- ture to establish the town of New Roxbury, now the town of Woodstock, Conn. At the date of the grant, in October, 1683, it formed a part of Massachusetts.


He was a grand-juryman in 1689. He was joint owner in a grist-mill previous to 1739, and sold to Joseph Belknap, who proceeded to use the water- privilege in such a manner as to damage the citizens of Brookline and Roxbury, in neglecting to do as much grinding as was necessary for home consumption. Accordingly, application was made to the selectmen, | who had control of the same, that they should in fu- ture be limited in the amount of water to be drawn from their fountain-head.


We have seen that Mr. Griggs enjoyed the confi- dence and esteem of his fellow-citizens, and was often intrusted with the management of public affairs to a | settled in Brighton.


greater or less extent throughout a long and useful life, and died in a ripe old age.


Ichabod, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, and Margaret, his wife, had nine children, viz .: (1) Hannah, 1702; (2) Samuel, 1704; (3)| Elizabeth, 1705 ; (4) Joseph, 1708; (5) Esther, 1710; (6) Sarah, 1712; (7) Nathan, 1714; (8) Thomas, 1715/16; (9) Ichabod, 1718.


Thomas, the eighth child of Ichabod and Margaret, was born Feb. 25, 1715/16; married Margaret Williams, of Roxbury, Sept. 1, 1743, and had ten children, viz. : 9, 1850.


(1) Sarah, 1744; (2) Elizabeth, 1745; (3) Moses, 1747; (4) Thomas, 1750; (5) Samuel, 1753; (6) John, 1756; (7) Joseph, 1760; (8) Joshua, 1763; (9) Sarah, 1765; (10) Nathaniel, 1770. Thomas, the father, settled in the lower parish of Roxbury, now a part of Brookline. He was a cordwainer, built a house and worked for many years at his trade, in what is known as the " Downer House," which he built. He afterwards sold this estate and purchased the one now owned and occupied by the late Deacon David Coolidge, on Harvard Street. On this farm he passed the remainder of his days, and where he died July 7, 1782. Moses, the father of the late David R. Griggs, settled in the edge of Brighton. Thomas removed to Sutton, Mass.


.


Samuel Griggs, son of Thomas and Margaret ; born Dec. 23, 1753; married Beulah, daughter of Daniel and Lucy Jones (Hammond), of Newton, Mass., Dec. 7, 1780, and had nine children, viz .: (1) Joseph, 1781 ; married Sarah Fuller, of Needham ; (2) Sam- uel, 1784 ; married, first, Caroline Bacon, second, Abigail Saurin ; (3) William Jones, 1786 ; died Oct. 24, 1804; (4) Thomas, 1788 ; married Harriet Fuller, of Needham ; (5) Susanna, 1790 ; married, first, Dea- con Aaron Hayden, of Eastport, Me., second, Ephraim Jackson, of Newton ; (6) Lucy, 1792 ; married David R. Griggs ; (7) John, 1794 ; married Sarah Williams ; (8) Stephen, 1796; married Caroline Fish ; he was drowned at Rockport, Mass., Aug. 16, 1850; (9) Margaret Williams, 1800 ; married Henry Wood, of Boston. The father died Jan. 16, 1814, aged sixty years. The mother died Aug. 21, 1847, aged ninety. Samuel Griggs settled on the homestead, which has from the earliest days been in the Griggs family. It was purchased of Capt. John Winchester, and was where his nine children were born. A grandson of his, William Jones Griggs, now owns and occupies the farm, which is under a high state of cultivation. Joshua, the father of George Griggs, Esq., resided on the Deacon David Coolidge farm. He had eight children. Nathaniel married Joanna Aspinwall, and


Deacon Thomas Griggs, son of Samuel and Beulah (Hammond) Griggs, married Harriet, daughter of Jonathan and Mary (Broad) Fuller, of Needham, Mass., Feb. 9, 1819, and had seven children,-


1. Caroline Griggs, Jan. 27, 1820 ; married David Sullivan Coolidge Jan. 6, 1841, and had-i., Henry Coolidge, Jan. 6, 1842; married Hattie Russell, of Watertown ; ii., Walter Coolidge, Feb. 23, 1844 ; mar- ried Georgie Robinson, of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; iii., Har- riet Coolidge, Feb. 20, 1847 ; iv., Ellen Coolidge, Feb.


873


BROOKLINE.


2. William Jones Griggs, June 6, 1821; married Mary Eaton Gipson, of Boston, Jan. 14, 1864, and had four children,-i., Mary Ellen Griggs, May 5, 1866; ii., Sarah Louisa Griggs, March 18, 1868; iii., Lucy Anna Griggs, Jan. 13, 1870; iv., Walter Allan Griggs, Feb. 25, 1871.


3. Mary Jane Griggs, Sept. 18, 1822; married Hezekiah Shailer, of Haddam, Conn., Aug. 10, 1847, and had,-i., Emma Jane Shailer, Aug. 13, 1848 ; died in New York, May 11, 1864; ii., William Griggs Shailer, Dec. 24, 1850; iii., Cora Louisa Shailer, | .Aug. 3, 1862. Mr. Shailer died July 9, 1878.


4. Ellen Griggs, May 5, 1824; married Charles Jewett Saxe, of Highgate, Vt., born March 24, 1814 ; married Feb. 22, 1853 ; children,-i., Charles Jewett Saxe, born Feb. 21, 1855, died July 11, 1862 ; ii., William Arthur Saxe, May 3, 1857 ; iii., Thomas Edward Saxe, July 6, 1860 ; iv., John Walter Saxe, Dec. 2, 1863 ; v., James Alfred Saxe, Dec. 2, 1863 ; vi., Mary Ellen Saxe, Dec. 17, 1865. Mr. Saxe, the father, died Oct. 1, 1867, at Troy, N. Y.


5. Thomas Baldwin Griggs, May 1, 1826 ; married Ann Elizabeth Stearns, Dec. 11, 1851, and have five children,-i., Annie Beulah Griggs, July 27, 1853; ii., Margaret Wood Griggs, May 15, 1855 ; iii., Sarah Louise Griggs, born March 22, 1861, died Aug. 31, 1867 ; iv., Thomas Griggs, Dec. 13, 1863 ; v., Harriet Fuller Griggs, Nov. 21, 1867.


6. Amanda Griggs, May 26, 1828 ; married Heze- kiah Smith Chase, of Boston, Dec. 30, 1858; chil- dren,-i., Hezekiah Chase, June 11, 1861 ; ii., Marion Chase, March 2, 1869.


7. Francis Henry Griggs, Nov. 14, 1834 ; married Candace Watson, of Liberty, Ind., Oct. 8, 1861; children,-i., Elizabeth Hasselman Griggs, April 22, 1866 ; ii., Thomas Watson Griggs, Feb. 14, 1875. Mr. Griggs is a banker, and resides in Davenport, Iowa.


The wife of Deacon Thomas Griggs died Aug. 13, 1867, aged seventy years, twenty-six days.


Mr. Griggs is a fine specimen of the good old English stock, of an active, enterprising, and indus- trious race. Having been born in a time when the means of acquiring anything more than a common education were exceedingly limited, his time was mostly occupied in promoting the interests of his father's farm, which consisted of the usual early rising, plenty of work, and no play kind of a boy's early life in the country. He has ever followed the life of a farmer, in which he has been successful, and now in his extreme old age attends personally to conducting the affairs on his land. He became possessed of the old homestead of his father, which consisted of forty


acres or more of land, which extended from Harvard Street to the top of Corey Hill, by purchasing the interest of the other heirs to the estate. At one time he was the owner of over one hundred acres of land, including the land extending from his residence to Coolidge's store. At the time of his ownership of Corey Hill, the north side was covered with a large growth of " savins," or cedar-trees (Juniperus Vir- giniana), which he caused to be removed, and the land prepared for cultivation. Mr. Griggs also cleared the lowland in the rear of his present residence on Washington Street, from Park Street to land of the late Deacon John Robinson. This land consisted of alders, barberry-bushes, and every other kind of swamp bushes, where now may be seen the most fertile land in Brookline.


The early boyhood of Deacon Griggs was quite uneventful. The school privileges of his day consisted of four months in the winter season, interspersed in summer with agricultural employment. He early ac- quired habits of industry, was earnest and honest, calm and deliberate, in all matters of judgment, of a quiet and retiring disposition, unassuming in his de- portment, never sought to be conspicuous. In politics he was a Whig and Republican, firm and unwavering in his convictions of duty, never seeking public office, but has merited and often enjoyed the confidence of his fellow-citizens. He has been selectman, assessor, moderator of town-meetings, member of the school board, and representative to the General Court. During the war of 1812 he commanded a company at Fort Independence, in Boston Harbor, doing good service. (See roll.)


He has ever been a law-abiding citizen, a valued friend and neighbor. When he arrived at the age of twenty-six his father died, leaving a widow and sev- eral children. Upon Thomas devolved the duty of conducting the large farm. Five years later the sub- ject of this sketch assumed the duties of married life, by bringing to the family circle an estimable lady, one who was his companion and life for forty-eight years, who became the mother of seven children, most of whom are now living. There are also twenty-two grandchildren living. Mrs. Griggs was a most es- timable and valued lady, a very devoted mother, a member of the Baptist Church, in which she was ever actively interested, and was always doing good when an opportunity presented itself.


In 1810, Mr. Griggs commenced attending the First Baptist Church in Newton, Rev. Joseph Graf- ton pastor ; was baptized and united with this church in December, 1817. During that month he, with twenty-two others, removed their church relation to


874


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.


Cambridgeport, Mass., for the purpose of constituting a Baptist Church in that place. He remained there, under the preaching of Rev. Bela Jacobs, for four years. In March, 1821, he, with others, helped to con- stitute the First Baptist Church in Roxbury, uniting with the Boston Baptist Association. Here he was appointed deacon, and remained worshiping with them for seven years, under the ministry of Rev. Joseph Eliot for three years, and Rev. William Lev- erett for four years. In 1828 he, with three others, feeling desirous to have a church nearer home, took measures to introduce church worship in Brookline. On the 5th day of June, 1828, a Baptist Church was constituted in Brookline, principally under the influ- ence of Mr. Griggs, assisted by Elijah and Timothy Corey. Mr. Griggs was one of its first deacons, and has continued in that office for forty-six years, an honest and worthy church officer.


We are happy to record the fact which appears from his whole course of life, that of the deep re- ligious principle, firmly implanted within him, of doing good; the sacrifice made by him in riding six or more miles to attend church, and assist in organizing others that they might also receive similar benefits.


In 1834, Mr. Griggs erected the house where his son, Deacon Thomas B. Griggs, resides, and occupied the same for about twelve years, when he removed to his present residence on Washington Street, where he purchased five acres of land in 1844, and built his house in 1847.


When we consider that Mr. Griggs has been troubled with rheumatism for fifty years, it is wonderful to witness the activity with which he daily moves about on his farm, looking after its interest with the ardor of a much younger person.


Mr. Griggs is an amiable, pleasant, warm-hearted, kind old gentleman, blessed with a cheerful disposition, and is surrounded by many affectionate children and grandchildren, and is passing his later years with honor and happiness. He resides on one of the prin- cipal thoroughfares of the town. Financially he has been a success, promptly meeting his engagements, running no bills, paying every one promptly. He has a very accurate and strong memory, reciting things that happened seventy-five years since as though of the past year. His impressions of events which oc- curred about 1800 have been readily given to the writer (who has had much occasion to refer to him for historical data), and are always clearly and fairly stated. In money matters always exact, giving and receiving just what was right. In short, he has done his work well, never shrank from duty, and his labors have been crowned with success.


Those who have witnessed his prompt and steady attendance on church worship on the Sabbath-day, at the age of ninety-six, riding in his carriage regularly, have only wished him a much longer life, and a happy one for years to come.


" The thought of death has no shadow of gloom to him, for he knows the end of his journey is nigh."


DR. CHARLES WILD.


Dr. Charles Wild, the subject of this notice, was the son of Abraham and Susanna (Pitman) Wild, of Boston. He was born Jan. 15, 1795. His father was of good old English stock, and his descendants have done no discredit to the name. In early days he attended such common schools as the times afforded ; fitted for college at the Latin school in Boston (where he received a Franklin medal in 1805), and entered Harvard College in 1811, graduating in the mem- orable class of 1814, of whom William H. Pres- cott, the historian, President Walker, of Harvard College, Hon. Pliny Merrick, the late justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, and other equally prominent men, were members. He received the degrees of A.M. and M.D. in 1817. He studied medicine in the Harvard Medical College in Boston.


Soon after graduating, on the 10th of April, 1818, he came to Brookline, for the purpose of prac- ticing his profession, and was an inmate of the family of Mrs. Croft, on Washington Street. He very soon became well known, entered upon an extensive patron- age, which he continued for upwards of forty years, enjoying the confidence of his fellow-citizens in an eminent degree. At the time of his starting in life, Dr. William Aspinwall, then the popular physician of the town, was gradually giving up his professional labor, and a son of his (of the same name) had died, thus leaving the field almost wholly to himself. In a short time Mrs. Croft, the lady with whom he boarded, gave him about two acres of land on the south side of Washington Street, on which he immediately erected a dwelling-house, the same now standing, which he sold to Deacon William Lincoln, and later owned by Stephen D. Bennett, Esq., adjoining the Blake place on the west, and the Craft estate on the east. He married at the age of twenty-four years, and became a valued citizen, a public-spirited man, interested in the welfare of the community. He was an active member of Rev. Dr. Pierce's church, a regular attend- ant on his ministry, and a member of the choir, and before the organ was used in that church he played the flute. The doctor was one of the old school for


875


BROOKLINE.


more than twenty years of his life, a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, 1828. Those who had occasion to require the services of a physician can remember well his tall, well-formed figure, his firm tread, the deep guttural voice which seemed to come from cavernous depths, and the look of those eyes from behind his spectacles while he mixed those powders in a tablespoon. When we think of the amount of calomel, jalap, and rhubarb, picra, ipecac, and antimony which the people of past times have taken, no wonder that so many have been added to the number of those who have filled our cemeteries. In the visits of the doctor, after he had prescribed for the patient, if there were any children in the family, he would amuse them by catching flies and telling them droll stories and playing with them. The doctor was of a kind and sympathetic nature, a good counselor. His curious speeches and odd ways sel- dom gave offense to any one, and his warm-hearted cheerfulness was better than medicine to dispel the blues. Always enjoying the ludicrous side of life, when he had anything he considered too good to lose, he would give the benefit of it to his friends. On entering a house he had a breezy way of stamping off the snow or dust, making noise enough for three per_ sons, then, throwing his overcoat aside and his muffler that he wore around his neck, he would let his saddle- bags to the floor with an earnestness that indicated business. The salutations of the doctor on leaving a house were as unique as his entrance, and were often of the following description : "Now, if you can't sleep well, and don't know what to do, you can amuse your- self with taking an emetic."


While the doctor never sought public office, he was often called to fill public positions for several years ; was a member of the school committee of this town, and often presided at public meetings. For a great while he was the principal justice of the peace of the time. Having early joined the Masonic fraternity, he became an enthusiastic and active member, and was a leader in the Washington Lodge located in Roxbury.


In 1839 the doctor's attention was drawn to Hahne- mann's new system of medical practice, then first heard of in America, and he was ready to give it a fair trial, and at length became a firm believer in its truth and efficacy, and had a wonderful faculty in carrying others along with him in his new field. He over- came the old prejudices, and met with wonderful suc- cess in his practice.


The second meeting of the physicians who were the pioneers in the new system of homoeopathy was held at the house of Dr. Wild on the 16th of February, 1841, when the constitution and by-laws of the Mas-


sachusetts Homoeopathic Fraternity were adopted, and he at one time was the president of the same. Soon after the doctor had begun his new treatment, Miss Amanda M. Corey, afterwards the wife of James M. Edmond, who had been a patient of his, then a school- girl, very bright and original, wrote the following lines, which were always very amusing to the doctor :




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