USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 8
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Jerauld Newland Ezra Mann was born in Med- field, June 26, 1796. He learned the trade of a carriage-painter, serving his time with the Messrs. Bird, of Walpole. In 1823 he went to Easton, where he remained but a short time, removing the year following to Taunton, where he remained five years, at the end of which time he went to Wrent- ham, and thence to Dedham, where he took the place of his brother-in-law, Maj. T. P. Whitney, as deputy sheriff and jailer. On the death of Sheriff Baker, Mr. Mann was, Feb. 8, 1843, ap- pointed sheriff for the term of five years, at the ex- piration of which he declined a reappointment, but continued to act as deputy sheriff and jailer until July, 1855, when failing health compelled his resig- nation. He soon after removed to Vernon, Conn., the residence of his youngest daughter, where he died April 15, 1857, aged sixty years and ten months.
tinued to reside until his death. He was deputy sheriff under Sheriff Mann, and in 1848 succeeded that officer as sheriff of the county. He was re- moved from office for political reasons in 1852, but was reappointed the following year, and continued in office until Jan. 1, 1857. After Roxbury became a city he was for two or three years city marshal. He
Thomas Adams was born in Quincy, April 20, 1804. In early life he was engaged in business with his father as a butcher, and afterwards was proprietor of different stage-lines, and an extensive dealer in the highest military office of the State without a | horses. He then went to Roxbury, where he con- parallel in Massachusetts. He also attained high rank as a Mason, being successively Junior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in 1820 and 1821, Senior Grand Warden in 1822, and Grand Master in 1832. On the death of Sheriff Cutler, in 1810, he was appointed sheriff, and con- tinued in office until 1811, when he was removed for
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NORFOLK DISTRICT MEDICAL SOCIETY.
died suddenly of apoplexy Jan. 2, 1869, aged sixty- | Dedham, Jan. 9, 1773. He was also much in public five years.
John W. Thomas was born in Weymouth, April 1, 1815. Learned the trade of a shoemaker, and afterwards went into business as a manufacturer ; was a Representative to the General Court in 1852, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1853, and a lieutenant-colonel in the militia. May 13, 1852, he was commissioned sheriff of Norfolk County by Governor Boutwell, but was removed the following year for political reasons. In 1856 he was elected sheriff by the Republican and American parties, and assumed the position Jan. 1, 1857. He soon after removed to Dedham, where he continues to reside. He was the first sheriff elected by the people in the county, and at each successive election was chosen by a large majority of the popular vote. He held the office until January, 1878, when he declined a re- election.
Rufus C. Wood was born in Palmer, May 30, 1818. His parents removed to Dudley, where he learned the trade of a machinist, and lived until he was twenty years of age. He previously had at- tended the public schools and the Nichols Academy in Dudley. He removed to Canton in November, 1836, and worked at his trade for eleven years in the Kinsley Iron and Machine Company's works. He was appointed a deputy sheriff by Sheriff Adams in 1853, and he held that office until his election as sheriff, in 1877. During President Lincoln's administration he was appointed postmaster at Canton, which office he held for sixteen years, and resigned at the time of his election as sheriff. In 1877 he was elected sheriff of the county, has been twice re-elected, the last time, in 1883, by the nomination and vote of both political parties. Since his election as sheriff he has resided in Dedham, and is master of the House of Correction in connection with his office.
County Treasurers .- Isaac Bullard, the first treasurer of the county, was born in Dedham, July 10, 1744, and was a lineal descendant from William Bullard, one of the first settlers of the town. He was for many years in public life, having been town clerk for three years, selectman five years, and Rep- resentative to the General Court from 1794 to 1801, and again in 1806 and 1807. He was chosen deacon of the First Church, May 28, 1780, which office he continued to hold until his death. On the organiza- tion of the county, in 1793, he was chosen county treasurer, to which position he was annually elected until his decease, which occurred June 18, 1808, at the age of sixty-four years.
John Bullard, son of the preceding, was born in
life, having been twenty years a selectman and one year town clerk. On the death of his father, in 1808, he was chosen county treasurer, which position he occupied by successive elections until his death, Feb. 25, 1852, a period of forty-four years. He was seventy-nine years of age. (See history of Dedham.)
George Ellis was born in Medfield, Sept. 2, 1793, and early removed to Dedham, where for several years he carried on business as a trader. He was captain of one of the Dedham militia companies, for several years a deputy sheriff of the county, and for fourteen years one of the selectmen of the town. He was secretary and treasurer of the Dedham Institution for Savings from May, 1845, to June, 1855, when, owing to ill health, he resigned. On the death of John Bullard, in 1852, he was appointed by the county commissioners county treasurer, and the two following years was elected by the people, failing of a re-election in 1855. He died June 24, 1855, aged sixty-two years and ten months.
Chauncey C. Churchill. (See history of Dedham.)
CHAPTER II.
NORFOLK DISTRICT MEDICAL SOCIETY.
BY A. E. SPROUL.
INCLUDED in the Massachusetts Medical Society are several subordinate organizations, " wherein the communication of cases and experiments may be made, and the diffusion of knowledge in medicine and surgery may be encouraged and promoted." One of these is the Norfolk District Medical Society. It is subject to the regulations of the general society in all matters wherein the latter is concerned. It was organized in 1850, and consists of Fellows of the Massachusetts Medical Society residing in those portions of Boston formerly known as Roxbury, Dor- chester, and West Roxbury, and in the towns within the present boundaries of Norfolk County. The " district" corresponds to the old county lines, which were changed by the annexation of Roxbury and Dorchester to Boston. The officers are as follows : President, Dr. J. H. Streeter, Roxbury ; Vice-Presi- dent, Dr. A. R. Holmes, Canton ; Secretary and Librarian, Dr. G. D. Townshend, Roxbury ; Treas- urer, Dr. E. G. Morse, Roxbury. Following is a
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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
list of present members, brought down to Feb. 1, 1884 :
1835.1-Alexander, Andrew, Dorchester.
1866 .- Allen, George Otis, West Roxbury.
1866 .- Amory, Robert, Brookline.
1873 .- Bemis, Charles Albert, West Medway. 1882 .- Blanchard, Benjamin Seaver, Brookline.
1840 .- Blanchard, Henry, Dorchester.
1871 .- Blodgett, Frank Marcellus, Roxbury.
1871 .- Bolles, William Palmer, Dorchester.
1868 .- Bowditch, Henry Pickering, West Roxbury.
1871 .- Bragdon, George Abbott, Dorchester.
1878 .- Broughton, Henry White, Jamaica Plain.
1879 .- Brown, Roscoe Ellsworth, East Weymouth.
1873 .- Call, Norman, Roxbury.
1865 .- Campbell, William Henry, Roxbury. 1878 .- Channing, Walter, Brookline. 1868 .- Chase, John Winslow, Dedham.
1882 .- Cheever, Clarence Alonzo, Mattapan.
1874 .- Clement, George Wilmot, Roxbury.
1837 .- Cotting, Benjamin Eddy, Roxbury.
1849 .- Cushing, Benjamin, Dorchester.
1874 .- Cushman, Thaddeus Thompson, Randolph. 1878 .- Daniels, Edwin Alfred, Medway.
1862 .- Dearing, Thomas Haven, Braintree.
1847 .- Dickerman, Lemuel, Foxborough.
1880 .- Donovan, Samuel Magner, Quincy.
1883 .- Drake, William Abram, North Weymouth.
1879 .- Dunbar, Eugene Fillmore, Roxbury.
1867 .- Edson, Ptolemy O'Meara, Roxbury. 1868 .- Edwards, Charles Lawrence, Hyde Park.
1870 .- Emery, William Henry, Roxbury.
1881 .- Ernst, Harold Clarence, Jamaica Plain.
1865 .- Everett, Willard Shepard, Hyde Park.
1874 .- Farr, Edwin Lawson, Roxbury.
1848 .- Faulkner, George, Jamaica Plain.
1866 .- Fay, George Wyman, East Weymouth.
1858 .- Fifield, William Cranch Bond, Dorchester.
1875 .- Finn, James Anthony, Roxbury.
1847 .- Flint, John Sydenham, Roxbury.
1847 .- Fogg, David Sylvester, Norwood.
1880 .- Fogg, Irving Sylvester, Norwood.
1856 .- Forsaith, Francis Flint, Weymouth.
1848 .- Francis, Tappan Eustis, Brookline.
1880 .- Fraser, John Chisholm, East Weymouth.
1877 .- French, Justus Crosby, Dedham.
1882 .- Galligan, Eugene Thomas, Roxbury.
1882 .- Garceau, Alexander Emmanuel, Hyde Park. 1863 .- Garceau, Trefllé, Roxbury.
1875 .- Gerry, Edwin Peabody, Jamaica Plain.
1854 .- Gifford, Silas Swift, East Stoughton.
1869 .- Gilbert, Daniel Dudley, Dorchester.
1854 .- Gilbert, John Henry, Quincy. 1871 .- Gordon, John Alexander, Quincy. 1869 .- Goss, Francis Webster, Roxbury.
1878 .- Gould, Lawrence Mervin, Hyde Park.
1882 .- Granger, Frank Clark, Randolph. 1863 .- Greene, James Sumner, Dorchester.
1871 .- Hall, Josiah Little, Brookline.
1847 .- Harlow, James Frederick, Quincy Point.
1867 .- Hayes, Charles Cogswell, Hyde Park.
1869 .- Hazelton, Isaac Hills, Grantville.
1 Date of admission.
1853 .- Hitchcock, Joseph Green Stevens, Foxborough. 1862 .- Holbrook, Silas Pinckney, West Medway.
1854 .- Holmes, Alexander Reed, Canton.
1880 .- Jaques, Henry Percy, Milton.
1833 .- Jarvis, Edward, Dorchester. 1877 .- Kenneally, John Henry, Roxbury.
1877 .- Kilby, Henry Sherman, Wrentham.
1848 .- King, George, Franklin.
1875 .- Kingsbury, Albert Dexter, Needham. 1869 .- Mansfield, Henry Tucker, Needham.
1883 .- Martin, Francis Coffin, Roxbury.
1846 .- Martin, Henry Austin, Roxbury.
1874 .- Martin, Stephen Crosby, Roxbury. 1849 .- Maynard, John Parker, Dedham. 1872 .- McNulty, Frederick Joseph, Roxbury. 1875 .- Mecuen, George Edward, Roxbury. 1872 .- Moran, John Brennan, Roxbury. 1870 .- Morse, Edward Gilead, Roxbury. 1843 .- Morse, Horatio Gilead, Roxbury.
1880 .- Mullen, Francis Henry, Dorchester. 1870 .- Nichols, Arthur Howard, Roxbury. 1871 .- Otis, Robert Mendum, Roslindale. 1878 .- Page, Frank Wilfred, Jamaica Plain. 1870 .- Perry, Joseph Franklin, Dorchester.
1882 .- Pierce, Matthew Vassar, Milton.
1867 .- Pratt, Gustavus Percival, Cohasset.
1881 .- Prior, Charles Edwin, Holbrook.
1867 .- Quincy, Henry Parker, Dedham. 1877 .- Read, George Mumford, Dorchester.
1856 .- Richardson, John Henry, Medfield.
1858 .- Robinson, Albert Brown, Roxbury.
1873 .- Rogers, Orville Forrest, Dorchester. 1873 .- Sabine, George Krans, Brookline.
1854 .- Seaverns, Joel, Roxbury.
1881 .- Sherman, Warren Hobart, Quincy.
1852 .- Shurtleff, Augustine, Brookline.
1863 .- Skinner, Edward Manning, Jamaica Plain.
1871 .- Smithwick, John, Sharon.
1855 .- Stedman, Charles Ellery, Dorchester.
1864 .- Stedman, Joseph, Jamaica Plain.
1861 .- Stone, Silas Emlyn, Walpole.
1847 .- Streeter, Joseph Herman, Roxbury.
1882 .- Thurlow, John Howard, Roxbury.
1872 .- Tinkham, Granville Wilson, Weymouth.
1862 .- Tower, Charles Carroll, South Weymouth.
1877 .- Towle, Henry Charles, Dorchester. 1877 .- Townshend, George Drew, Roxbury.
1868 .- Trull, Washington Benson, Brookline.
1876 .- Van Slyck, David Bernard, Brookline.
1872 .- Vogel, Frederick William, Roxbury.
1854 .- Waldock, James, Roxbury. 1838 .- Wales, Bradford Leonard, Randolph.
1880 .- Welch, John Frederick, Quincy.
1874 .- Wescott, William Henry, Dorchester.
1880 .- West, Edward Graeff, Roxbury.
1882 .- White, Herbert Warren, Roxbury.
1878 .- Wells, Frank, Brookline. 1872 .- Williams, Edward Tufts, Roxbury. 1831 .- Wing, Benjamin Franklin, Jamaica Plain.
1874 .- Wing, Clifton Ellis, Jamaica Plain.
1876 .- Wingate, Uranus Owen Brackett, Wellesley.
1867 .- Winkler, Joseph Alexander, Jamaica Plain.
1880 .- Withington, Charles Francis, Roxbury.
1882 .- Wood, Henry Austin, Roxbury.
1875 .- Yale, Joseph Cummings, Franklin.
1874 .- Young, Charles Sayward, Stoughton.
31
DEDHAM.
CHAPTER III.
DEDHAM.
BY ERASTUS WORTHINGTON.1
The Settlement-The Town Covenant-Names of the Signers- Organization of Town Government-Character of Settlers- Formation of the Church-The Rev. John Allin-Division of Lands-Burial-Ground-Training-Ground-Description of the Village in 1664.
ON the third day of September, 1635, at the Gen- eral Court held at Newtowne, afterwards Cambridge, it was thus ordered :
" There shall be a plantation settled about two miles above the falls of Charles River, on the north- east side thereof, to have ground lying to it on both sides the river, both upland and meadow, to be laid out hereafter as the court shall appoint."
The falls of Charles River here referred to, are the falls at Newton, and although the distance above the falls is understated in the record, yet the place desig- nated can be none other than that now occupied by the village of Dedham. This order was the fiat which proclaimed the existence of the settlement of Dedham, and the record therefore properly stands at the begin- ning of its written history. It marks with certainty the time when the settlement had been definitely de- termined upon. Before this time, however, as the record clearly implies, the lands described, to some extent, must have been explored, and settlers were ready to undertake the new plantation. The settle- ment at Watertown, begun in 1630, had already be- come alarmed at the rapid increase of its inhabitants. The tide of emigration had then set strongly to the shores of Massachusetts Bay, and a new settlement had to be provided. In the preceding spring the General Court had given leave to the inhabitants of Watertown to remove themselves to any place they
should make choice of, provided they should continue under the government. The student of the early records of the colonial towns, and especially those of Watertown, will be surprised and interested to find how soon after the arrival of Winthrop, the insuffi- ciency of land became an urgent and impelling reason for the advance of civilization into the interior. It is easy to imagine how eagerly the pioneers, in the search for an eligible location, ascended the river above the lands already granted to the Newtowne proprietors, lying above Watertown, to the broad meadows and wide plateau of the future town of Dedham. To the eye of the early settler, it must be remembered, meadows had an especial value, since they would fur- nish both water and forage for his cattle before the uplands could be cleared.
The removal from Watertown was gradually ef- fected, and it is probable that the year 1635-36 was mainly spent in preparation for occupying the new settlement. The fact, however, that in the register of births and deaths in Dedham are recorded the births of two children in June and July of 1635, would seem sufficient to prove that the plantation was actually begun in that year. It is said that there were twelve of these pioneers who first planted their rude houses upon the plains of Dedham. Although the names of all these cannot now be ascertained, yet among those who were here as early as 1635 were doubtless Edward Alleyne, Philemon Dalton, Samuel Morse, John Dwight, Lambert Genere, Richard Evered, and Ralph Shepherd. Capt. Thomas Cake- bread was the military man of the company, but he never came as a settler. Mr. Robert Feake was a prominent man at Watertown, and although his name was first subscribed to the covenant, and he had an allotment of land, he never removed here. Possibly Abraham Shaw was one of the number, as his house and goods at Watertown were burned about this time.
On the eighth day of September, 1636, upon the petition of nineteen settlers for a confirmation of the grant of the previous year, and to distinguish the town by the name of Contentment, the General Court ordered " that the plantation to be settled above the falls of Charles River shall have three years immu- nity from public charges, and the name of the plan- tation to be Dedham; to enjoy all that land on the southerly and easterly side of Charles River not for- merly granted to any town or particular persons, and also to have five miles square on the other side of the river."
This is to be considered as the act incorporating the town, as it conferred the name by which it has
1 In writing the following history of Dedham, I have taken the materials largely from my father's "History of Dedham," published in 1827; from the Centennial address of Samuel F. Haven, in 1836 ; from the historical discourses of the Rev. Dr. Lamson, and the other historical discourses by the pastors of other churches. The care and accuracy with which these were prepared render them authentic sources of history, and they have left little for the gleaner in the history of the first two centuries. I have also availed myself of the researches of others upon certain special subjects ; but with these exceptions, I have sought original sources for historical facts. I only regret that in the limited time given for the preparation of this history, there has been no opportunity for giving citations of authorities, or for that careful revision of the text which every historical work should receive .- E. W.
DEDHAM, Feb. 1, 1884.
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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
always been known. No definite reason can be as- signed for the change made in the name selected by the petitioners ; but it has been suggested that John Dwight, John Rogers, and John Page were emigrants from Dedham, in Suffolk, England, which may satis- factorily account for it.
The territory included in this grant to the Dedham proprietors was magnificent in its extent and some- what indefinite in its boundaries. On the southerly and easterly side of the river, it included the present town of Dedham, with the portions that have been annexed to West Roxbury and Hyde Park, the towns of Norwood, Dover, a portion of Natick, Med- field, Walpole, Norfolk, Franklin, Wrentham, and the greater portion of Bellingham. On the northerly and westerly side of the river the grant of five miles square included Dedham Island, then a neck of land, Needham, Wellesley, the greater portion of Natick, three thousand four hundred acres in the town of Sherborn, and the town of Medway. Besides, three hundred acres had been purchased near the Roxbury line, by the proprietors, of Philemon Dalton, John Dwight, and Lambert Genere, who had bought of Samuel Dudley.
The easterly boundary of the territory then was not Neponset River, owing to grants to Israel Stoughton and others which intervened, but a century after, Neponset River became the boundary-line between Stoughton and Dedham. It required many commit- tees and much negotiation subsequently to define the boundaries between Dedham and Roxbury and Dor- chester.
This grant of the General Court in confirmation and enlargement of the grant of a plantation made in 1635 was made to the nineteen persons who were petitioners. They were the sole owners of the land until they should admit new associates. The names of these petitioners and proprietors were
Edward Alleyne,
Abraham Shaw, Samuel Morse, Philemon Dalton, Ezekiel Holliman, John Kingsbury, John Dwight,
Lambert Genere, Nicholas Phillips, Ralph Shepherd,
John Gaye, Thomas Bartlett,
Francis Austen,
John Rogers,
Joseph Shaw,
John Coolidge, Richard Evered, John Howard,
William Bearestow.
While it is true that the nineteen men whose names are signed to the petition should be regarded as the nominal founders of the town, yet only a few of them were long identified with the plantation or had any permanent influence upon its future growth.
Edward Alleyne, who had come from Watertown the preceding year, was doubtless the principal man of the company. That he was a man of education, the records of the first two years, made by him, are ample evidence, and the covenant drawn by him shows that he was a man of excellent capacity. He afterwards obtained a grant of three hundred acres of land for a settlement at Bogastow (East Medway), but he died suddenly while attending the General Court in 1642, without having begun his new plantation. Abraham Shaw, having obtained leave to erect a corn-mill on Charles River, died in 1638, without beginning his enterprise, and Joseph Shaw, his son, removed to Weymouth. Ezekiel Holliman remained only a short time, and then removed to Salem, and became an adherent of Roger Williams. He subsequently went to Rhode Island, and, it is said, baptized Roger Wil- liams at Providence. Philemon Dalton removed to Ipswich, Ralph Shepherd and Nicholas Phillips to Weymouth, William Bearestow to Scituate after a few years, and Francis Austen to Hampton. John Coolidge, Thomas Bartlett, and John Rogers prob- ably never removed from Watertown. Of those who remained here as permanent settlers were Lambert Genere, John Gay, John Kingsbury, and John How- | ard. Richard Evered was the progenitor of the Dedham family bearing the name of Everett. John Dwight was for sixteen years a selectman, and died here in 1661. It was from him that Dwight's Brook took its name, and his house, which stood near the brook, on High Street, near the easterly abutment of the railroad bridge, was not removed until the con- struction of the railroad in 1849.
The settlement was now in the period of its " non- age," as it was aptly termed in the petition. Its affairs were guided and directed at first by those who had not yet removed from Watertown. But in the winter of 1636-37 there were some who had begun to live permanently in their new habitations. Of the motives and character of the settlers we have clear and indubitable assurance in the covenant which was drawn up before the act of incorporation. Its sim- plicity and brevity are admirable, while the spirit which pervades it shows that their earnest desire and prominent motive were for a loving and comfortable society.
"THE COVENANT.
"1. We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, do, in the fear and reverence of Almighty God, mutually and severally promise amongst ourselves and each to other to profess and practise one truth according to that most perfect rule the foundation whereof is everlasting love.
"2. That we shall by all means labor to keep off from us all such as are contrary-minded, and receive only such unto us as
33
DEDHAM.
be such as may be probably of one heart with us, as that we either know or may well and truly be informed to walk in peaceable conversation, with all meekness of spirit, for the edi- fication of each other, in the knowledge and faith of the Lord Jesus, and the mutual encouragement unto all temporal com- forts in all things, seeking the good of each other out of all which may be derived true peace.
' 3. That if at any time difference shall arise between par- ties of our said town, that then such party and parties shall presently refer all such difference unto some two or three others of our said society, to be fully accorded and determined without any further delay, if it possibly may be.
"4. That every man that now or at any time hereafter shall have lots in our said town shall pay his share in all such rates of money and charges as shall be imposed upon him rateably in proportion with other men, as also become freely subject unto all such orders and constitutions as shall be necessarily had or made, now or at any time hereafter, from this day forward, as well for loving and comfortable society in our said town, as also for the prosperous and thriving condition of our said fel- lowship, especially respecting the fear of God, in which we desire to begin and continue whatsoever we shall by his loving favor take in hand.
"5. And for the better manifestation of our true resolution herein, every man so received to subscribe hereunto his name, thereby obliging both himself and his successors after him for ever, as we have done.
"Names subscribed to the covenant as followeth."
There is no date to this covenant to show when it was drawn up, but it must have been before the act of incorporation, for the petitioners state that they were at present under covenant. One hundred and twenty-five names are subscribed to this covenant, but it will be found upon examination that the list contains the names of some who were mere children when they came with their parents, and also of others who came years after the beginning of the settlement. In the fifth clause of the instrument the intention is clearly expressed that it should be signed by every man received into the society, both himself and his successors after him for ever.
In order that these names may be conveniently referred to, and that what is known concerning them may be given in a condensed form, the list has been prepared, with such additions as are furnished from authentic sources :
Robert Feake, Watertown. Freeman May 18, 1631 ; he never removed to Dedham, although he had an allotment of land.
Edward Alleyne, Watertown. Freeman March 13, 1638; representative four years, 1639-42; died suddenly while at- tending General Court, Sept. 8, 1642.
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