History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 87

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 87

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

THE PIERCE FAMILY.

The name Pierce is variously spelled. The first American ancestor of the Stoughton branch was John Pers, a man of good estate in England, and who came from Norwich, County Norfolk, to America, and settled in Watertown, Mass., about 1637, where his son An- thony had previously become a resident. The heraldic description of the coat of arms borne by this family

in England is " Three Ravens rising sable. Fesse, hummette. Motto, Dixit et Fecit. Crest, dove, with olive branch in beak."

Anthony (2) was a large landholder in Water- town in 1630, and is the ancestor of nearly all the families bearing the name of Pierce in Watertown, Waltham, Weston, Lincoln, Lexington, and Concord. His estate inventoried over three hundred pounds. Joseph (3) was also a resident of Watertown, where he was admitted a freeman April 18, 1690. He had numerous children, and left an estate inventoried at three hundred and sixteen pounds, ten shillings. John (4) was also a resident of Waltham ; his oldest son, John (5), born Sept. 1, 1703, married Rebecca Fenno, daughter of John Fenno, of Stoughton. He was a weaver. He purchased twenty-seven acres of land in Stoughton for seventy-five pounds, whither he removed about 1731. This land is within the present limits of Canton, and it passed to his son Seth, then to his grandson, Jesse, great-grandson, Col. Jesse, great-great-grandsons, Hon. Edward L. and Hon. Henry L. Seth (6) was always a resident of Stough- ton ; married Angelette Clark. Their second child, Jesse (7), married Catherine Smith, had twelve chil- dren, resided on the old homestead in Stoughton, and

COL. JESSE PIERCE (8),-Jesse (7), Seth (6), John (5), John (4), Joseph (3), Anthony (2), John (1),- born Nov. 7, 1788; married, Sept. 9, 1824, Elizabeth S. Lillie, born July 30, 1786, died Nov. 1, 1871. He died Feb. 3, 1856.

Col. Jesse Pierce was born in Stoughton, Nov. 7, 1788. His birthplace was in that part of the town which a few years later was incorporated as Canton, his father's home being then in what is now South Canton. From the age of seven to twenty-one he lived with his maternal uncle, Lemuel Smith, a Rev- olutionary soldier, upon a farm on the Bay road, in the western part of Stoughton. In youth he showed an earnest purpose to gain knowledge, and having learned all that could be taught him in the public school of his district, he took in 1807, while yet a minor, the charge of a school, and from that year to 1814 served as the teacher of public schools in Stoughton and South Dedham (now Norwood), teaching during the winter and working on his uncle's farm at other sea- sons. For the purpose of learning better modes of in- struction, he attended for a short time Taunton Academy, then under the charge of Simeon Doggett. From 1814 to 1819 he taught public schools in Mil- ton,-one at Brush Hill, and another at Milton Hill.

He was the first to establish a Sunday-school in Dorchester, which he opened in the winter of 1817-

William Crane, 1730-32, 1734- 37,1739.

Benjamin Savell, 1738.

Joseph Hewins, Jr., 1740-43. William Royall, 1744-59, 1766. Nathaniel May, 1760-65.

Luther S. Leach, 1866-68, 1872-75. Augustus A. Leach, 1869. Mark O. Wheaton, 1870-71.

Jesse Pierce_

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18, at Mattapan, in the school-house (where his brother John was then the teacher) situated near the home of Edmund Tileston. The school was intended par- ticularly for the children of persons working in the factory of Smith Boies. One of the pupils was Newell A. Thompson, afterwards prominent in the business and municipal affairs of Boston. Col. Pierce continued his connection with Sunday-schools after his removal to Stoughton, both in that town and at the Methodist Church at North Easton, where he worshiped for many years.

In 1819 he opened a private school at Milton Hill, which he kept for five years. Some who attended it have become well-known citizens, among whom were Robert B. and John M. Forbes and Fletcher Web- ster. At this period he took an active part in the militia, serving in the Second Regiment, Second Bri- gade and First Division, and was commissioned as an ensign in 1810, captain and major in 1813, lieuten- ant-colonel in 1815, and colonel in 1816. This last commission he resigned in 1818. Traditions of his fidelity and success in the instruction and drill of the | officers and men under his command are still pre- served. Marrying, in 1824, Eliza S., daughter of Capt. John Lillie, who was the aid of Maj .- Gen. Knox in the Revolutionary war, he returned to Stoughton and became the owner of his uncle's farm, on which he had been brought up.1 He opened at once at his house a private boarding-school for boys, chiefly of Boston families, and receiving also day scholars from the neighborhood. As a teacher he | from the Methodist Church which took place in 1840. made a lasting impression on his pupils for his earn- , He was an active member of that church for many estness, thoroughness, and fidelity, and particularly

years, joining it while a teacher in Milton, but during his patience in teaching those who had less than the | the later years of his life he attended the services of average gift for acquiring knowledge. He had a gen- an orthodox Congregational Church. He was a de- vout person, and his reading was largely in religious books, as Clarke's and Scott's Commentaries. He was often sought to perform the services which peculiarly belong to clergymen at funerals and weddings, and in uine sympathy with the young, which he kept fresh through life. In 1829 he gave up the occupation of teacher, which he had followed for twenty years, and from that time was occupied with the care of his farm and miscellaneous work, such as conveyancing, | the chambers of the sick. He took a deep interest in the settlement of estates, the administration of town the religious instruction of the young, and while a teacher gathered children for this purpose in his school-house on Sunday." offices, and the education of his two sons, which he personally directed for some years. His advice was often sought in a community where his good sense and practical knowledge were highly valued. He represented his town in the Legislature for six years, viz., 1832-36 and 1840, serving also the last-named year on the State valuation committee. He was a Democratic candidate for Presidential elector in 1840 and for State senator in 1844, and also a Free-Soil

1 See Drake's " Memorials of the Mass. Society of the Cincin- nati," and "Bradford's New England Biography," for sketches of Capt. Lillie.

candidate for the latter office in 1848. Governor Morton offered him (in 1843) the appointment of sheriff for Norfolk County, which he declined. In the Legislature he engaged in debates upon important questions, and his remarks were in some instances re- ported at length in the public journals. He spoke in favor of restricting the sale of spirituous liquors, and upon the appointment of representatives, favoring a reduction in the number, and a town rather than a district system. His most elaborate speech was made Feb. 26, 1840, upon the militia system, which, as then existing, he thought injurious to public morals and of no public advantage. He urged a reduction of the force, a better discipline, and the discontinuance of encampments.2 He was, as legislator and citizen, a strenuous supporter of the causes of education and temperance.

Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, who was Speaker in 1840, wrote in 1876: "Col. Jesse Pierce, of Stoughton, comes back vividly to my remembrance as one of the five or six hundred over whom I was privileged to preside nearly forty years ago. He was a most intelligent and estimable person, whom I was glad to count among my friends. At the period of 1835-40 he became much interested in the anti- slavery cause. He voted for James G. Birney in 1844, although sustaining at that election the State nominations of the Democratic party, and joined four years later the Free-Soil party, then first organized. He was in sympathy with the anti-slavery secession

Col. Pierce was a person of average height, five feet and eight or nine inches. He had no self-asser- tion, but while gentle in manner was firm in purpose, particularly where a question involved any moral element. In conversation, while very genial, he weighed well his words, and was in a marked degree considerate of the feelings and reputations of others. His tenderness to neighbors who were in grief, his

2 See Norfolk Democrat, March 28, 1840.

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kindness to the young, to domestics of his household, and laborers on his farm, and to all less fortunate in life than himself, are still freshly remembered. He was widely known, and bore through life with all who knew him the character of a thoroughly upright and just man.

Removing in 1849 from Stoughton to the Lower Mills Village, or Dorchester (now Boston), he passed the rest of his life among those who had known him -- in his youth as a teacher, occupying the house which is now the residence of his eldest son. The news- paper of his county noting his death, which took place Feb. 3, 1856, wrote of him, "He was for many years a distinguished teacher, and numbers among his pupils many men who now occupy promi- nent positions in public life. He was a man of strict integrity, high-minded and honorable, and universally ! beloved and respected in all the various relations of life." Children,-Hon. Henry Lillie, born Aug. 23, 1825; George S., born June 20, 1827, died Sept. 28, 1827 ; Hon. Edward Lillie, born May 29, 1829, married Elizabeth H. Kingsbury.

HON. HENRY LILLIE PIERCE (8) was born in Stoughton, Mass., on Aug. 23, 1825. He received a good English education at the public schools of that town, and at the State Normal School in Bridgewater. Ill health made it necessary for him to leave school much sooner than his inclination would have prompted; but the condition of health which obliged him to cut short his studies, and to abstain for some years from all manual labor, developed in him a taste for reading, and gave to his mind a thoughtful cast which has had a most important influence upon his later life. In 1849 the family removed to a house in Dorchester, near Milton Lower Mills, and there the subject of this sketch has ever since resided. In 1850 he en- tered the chocolate manufactory of Walter Baker & Co., which was established on the Neponset River, near his home. After serving in a subordinate po- sition for a number of years and seeing no prospect of advancement, he determined to try his fortunes in the new country at the West. He spent some months in traveling through that region, and although he failed to obtain that for which he sought, namely, a more remunerative employment, he returned with greatly improved health, and with enlarged ideas as to the extent and resources of his country. He again entered Mr. Baker's establishment, on an improved footing, and on the death of the owner, in 1854, he took charge of the business, and from that time to this has been the sole manager. At an early age he took a lively interest in public affairs, and while still a school-boy he contributed articles for some of the

country papers. His father being a Democrat, and of the Jefferson and Jackson school, he imbibed the same political ideas and continued to hold them until the nomination of Martin Van Buren, in 1848, gave to the Free-Soil party a national candidate and a na- tional platform. He joined with enthusiasm in the new movement for equal rights; and through good report and evil report he stood by the anti-slavery party-aiding it by his voice, his pen, and his money -until the purpose for which it had been organized was triumphantly established.

In 1859, when the general statutes of the State were revised, the action of the General Court in strik- ing out the word " white" wherever it occurred in the laws authorizing the organization of the militia was defeated by the exercise of the veto power by the Governor. Mr. Pierce was elected a member of the House the following year (1860), and was instru- mental in getting the two branches of the Legislature to pass another bill striking the word from the militia laws. But the act was again defeated by the Gov- ernor's veto ; and it was not until the year 1864 that success attended the efforts of those who wished to have this obnoxious discrimination on account of race removed from the statute-book. Being elected to the session for the following year, Mr. Pierce inaugurated the movement, in which he was sustained by a ma- jority of the House, for instructing our senators, and recommending our representatives in Congress, to favor such a change in the national laws as would authorize the enlistment of colored men into the United States army. Re-elected again in 1862, Mr. Pierce was appointed chairman of the committee on finance, and in that capacity reported and carried through the House two measures of great importance, namely, the act providing for the payment of the State bonds in gold (this was after the legal tender act had been passed by Congress), and the act taxing savings-banks and insurance companies. At the end of his third term Mr. Pierce withdrew from the House, but was chosen again in 1866. He does not appear as the special champion of any important meas- ure during that session.

In 1867 he visited Europe, passing several months in traveling through France, Italy, and Germany. On the annexation of Dorchester to the city of Bos- ton, in 1869, he was elected to represent that section of the city in the Board of Aldermen. After serv- ing two years (1870-71) he declined a re-election, and in the following year visited Europe again, partly for business and partly for purposes of recreation. In the latter part of that year he was nominated as a non- partisan candidate for the office of mayor. The lack of

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efficiency which had been exhibited by the executive departments of the government during the great fire of the 9th of November, and the neglect to take any effective measures for the suppression of the small- pox, which was then spreading through the city with alarming rapidity, caused great dissatisfaction, espe- cially among business men. On the other hand, the personal honesty and good intentions of the mayor then in office, his high standing in the Democratic party, and his earnest desire to secure an indorsement, gave him a large if not an enthusiastic support, and the contest, although conducted with great courtesy on both sides, was unusually close and exciting. It resulted in the election of Mr. Pierce by a very small majority. His address at the organization of the new government was calculated to inspire confidence in his abilities as an executive officer. To improve the effi- ciency of the government radical changes were needed in some of the departments, and such changes he not only recommended, but proceeded resolutely to carry out. He reorganized the health department by ap- pointing a new Board of Health, and took measures for the suppression of the smallpox, which were im- mediately attended with the most gratifying results. He also succeeded, against strong opposition, in se- curing the reorganization of the fire department by removing it from the personal and partisan influences to which it had long been subjected, and placing it upon a business basis. In October of that year he received the Republican nomination for representa- tive in Congress from the Third Massachusetts Dis- trict, to fill the vacancy in the Forty-third Congress occasioned by the death of Hon. William Whiting. The success of his municipal administration is shown in the fact that the Democrats failed to nominate any candidate to oppose him, and his election was substan- tially unanimous. In order to take his seat at the beginning of the session, in December, he retired from the mayor's office a month before the expiration of his term. Having been for many years on terms of personal friendship with Charles Sumner, and having a large acquaintance with the public men of the day, he was from the start in a position to exert a powerful influence upon the councils of the govern- ment. Imbued with the same spirit which led Sum- ner and Andrew and Wilson to favor a conciliatory policy towards the South in the legislation which fol- lowed the war, he threw his influence against the harsh and unconstitutional measures by which a por- tion of the leaders of the party to which he belonged sought to perpetuate their political ascendency over the States lately in rebellion. He was thus placed in the unpleasant position of being obliged to oppose

many of the measures which were openly or secretly favored by President Grant's administration. But it is evident that his course was in accordance with the sentiments of the people of Massachusetts, from the fact that in the elections to the Forty-fourth Con- gress, which occurred in the autumn of 1874, he was re-elected by a handsome majority, while in six out of the ten other districts in the State the regular Republican candidates were defeated for the first time since the beginning of the war. Near the close of the second session of the Forty-third Congress (Feb- ruary, 1875) the "force bill," so called, giving the President extraordinary powers to interfere in the internal affairs of the States, and in his discretion to suspend the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus, was introduced into the House, and an attempt made by the administration leaders to force it through with- out giving sufficient opportunity for discussion. The Republicans had control of the House by a large ma- jority, and as a political measure intended, as many of them avowed, to give their party an advantage in the Presidential election to occur in the following year, they were substantially unanimous in its sup- port.

On the 27th of February, Mr. Pierce made a short speech in opposition to the bill, which was highly commended by all the leading newspapers through- out the country. The conclusion is worthy of being transcribed here. "In opposing this bill," he said, " I am in strict accordance with all my past political action. Local self-government and the equality of all men before the law are the cardinal principles of my political faith. By these principles I stand or fall. I resisted the fugitive slave bill because it trampled upon the principles of civil liberty and the rights of human nature. The bill now under consid- eration is permeated with the spirit which gave life and vigor to that odious measure. Of the supporters of the fugitive slave bill the most conspicuous were Jefferson Davis and John C. Breckinridge. "The whirligig of time' presents to us to-day a most re- markable spectacle. Some of the most blatant and pretentious supporters of Jefferson Davis and John C. Breckinridge in conventions and before the people are here to-day the especial champions of this bill. I shall be the last man in the world to question their consistency or dispute their motives. Mr. Speaker, I know Massachusetts, and I have spoken her senti- ments here to-day. She has always interposed a firm resistance to the approach of arbitrary power. She re- sisted unto blood the stamp act, writs of assistance, and all the force bills which were enacted by Parliament to compel her submission to the British crown. She

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will be true to her traditions and to her history, and will resist by all constitutional means every attempt, by whomsoever made, to impose similar measures upon any portion of the people of our common country." At the close of the Forty-third Congress (March, 1875), Mr. Pierce visited Europe for the third time, spending some six months in traveling with friends through England, Scotland, and on the continent.

During the session of the Forty-fourth Congress Mr. Pierce was at the head of the Republican mem- bers of the Committee on Commerce. He made an elaborate report on the subject of relieving vessels engaged in the coasting trade from the unjust and discriminating legislation of some of the States with regard to pilotage fees, and he made speeches on the proposition to amend the Constitution so as to limit the term of office of the President, on reciprocity with Canada, and on counting the electoral vote of Louisi- ana. On the last question Mr. Pierce and President Seelye (then representative from the Tenth Massa- chusetts District) stood alone among the Republicans in opposing the counting of the electoral vote of Louisiana for either candidate, on the ground of fraud in making up the returns. The London Times published Mr. Pierce's speech at length, and referred to it as a "very able" one.

Some time previous to the elections for the Forty- fifth Congress, Mr. Pierce announced to the electors of the Third District, through the public press, his de- - termination to retire from public life at the expira- tion of the term for which he then held office. This decision was made after due deliberation, and with the firm determination of adhering to it. It was with extreme reluctance, therefore, that he consented, in the autumn of 1877, to allow his name to be used as a citizens' candidate for the office of mayor of Boston. The call for his services was signed by some two thousand five hundred tax-paying citizens, represent- ing all classes and all parties. The charges made | against the administration then in power was its par- tisanship in the interest of the Democratic party and its inefficiency. The contest which followed was the most remarkable in the annals of the city. The number of votes cast largely exceeded those at any previous election, municipal, State, or national, and resulted in the election of Mr. Pierce by about two thousand three hundred majority. In his inaugural address, Mr. Pierce dwelt at some length upon the powers and purposes of municipal corporations, taking the ground that " they are created and exist for the public advantage and not for the benefit of their offi- cers or of particular individuals or classes." He also

considered some of the schemes which had been de- vised for improving our local governments, and denied the propriety or expediency of attempting to raise the standard of municipal government by a limitation of the suffrage, or by giving up to the State powers which from time immemorial have been exercised by the cities and towns. His clear and business-like exposition of the true theory upon which local gov- ernments are founded and maintained in this country was referred to in high commendation by the leading newspapers of the day.

The most important act of his second administra- tion was the reorganization of the police department, which had become ill-disciplined and inefficient under the old system of appointment and management by the mayor and aldermen. Through his efforts an act was passed by the General Court, authorizing the ap- pointment of commissioners, for a term of years, to take charge of the department, and also to execute the laws concerning the sale of intoxicating liquors. During the year a reduction of nearly nine hundred thousand dollars was made in the tax levy, and a more rigid system of accountability was established in the several departments of the city government.

At the conclusion of his term, Mr. Pierce declined a re-election, and has since given his attention mainly to the management of his large manufacturing busi- ness. During his absence in Europe, in the summer of 1883, there was a very general demand from those opposed to Butlerism for the use of his name as can- didate for Governor, and a large majority of the dele- gates elected to the Republican convention were un- doubtedly in favor of his nomination. But, adhering to a determination formed some time before, he de- clined the use of his name, and strongly urged the nomination of Mr. Robinson as the candidate upon whom the opponents of the then administration could best unite, -with what result is too well known to need comment here.

HON. NATHANIEL WALES.

Among the families that for generations have given the impress of strong, steady character to this section must be mentioned the Wales family. Nathaniel (1), the immigrant, came from England with Rev. Richard Mather, in the ship " James," from Bristol, in 1635, and settled in Dorchester, where he was made a freeman Nov. 2, 1637. His wife, Isabel, daughter of Humph- rey Atherton and Mary Wales,1 outlived him but two weeks. He had children,-Timothy, John, and

1 See Atherton family.

Nath - Walls

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Nathaniel (2),-and died at Boston Dec. 4, 1661, having removed thither in 1654. Nathaniel (2), born in England, was a ship-carpenter, settled in Boston, where he died May 20, 1662, leaving Nathaniel (3), Samuel, Mary, and Jonathan. Nathaniel (3), born 1659, settled in Braintree with his wife, Joanna, about 1675, and had fifteen children, of whom Thomas was one. Mr. Wales was a deacon in the church at Braintree, and ordained ruling elder Feb. 27, 1700. He died March 23, 1718. His wife died May 11, 1704. Thomas Wales (4th gen.), born April 19, 1695, was a deacon in the church, a man of good re- pute, married Mary Belcher, Jan. 13, 1719, and lived in the South Precinct of Braintree (now Randolph), where he died in 1775. They had twelve children, Nathaniel being seventh. Mrs. Wales died Jan. 30, 1741. Mr. Wales married, second, Sarah (widow of Samuel) Belcher, Dec. 7, 1742. By her he had three children. Nathaniel Wales (5th gen.), born Oct. 26, 1729, married Sarah -, settled in Stoughton, and, like his father, was a deacon in the church. He was a farmer, and had eleven children. He lived a quiet and useful life, and died, esteemed, at a good old age. 1 His son, Joshua (6th gen.), was born Feb. 21, 1752, in Stoughton, where he always resided. He was a marketman and farmer, was three times married, was an active, energetic man, marked for his sound sense and sterling honesty, and closed a long life in the full- ness of years, leaving a large family of children. By his first wife (a Porter) he had five children, the old- est being Nathaniel (7th gen.).

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History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 87

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

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