USA > Massachusetts > Barnstable County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. I > Part 63
USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. I > Part 63
USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. I > Part 63
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Hingham has always taken a forward step in education and has in- cluded among its residents men of learning and liberality. It had an agricultural and horticultural society which became a permanent or- ganization November 10th, 1858, with Albert Fearing president and Edmund Hersey recording secretary. For several years an annual fair was held, the first one taking place September 28 and 29, 1859.
The public library was founded by Hon. Albert Fearing. Colonel Benjamin Loring built a hall at which public lectures were given in the interest of education. This was named Loring Hall. Derby Acad- emy was incorporated June 19, 1797, and was endowed by Madam Sarah Derby.
The industries in which Hingham has been engaged have included manufactures of cabinet-ware, jute cloth, boots and shoes, woodenware, cordage, upholstery trimmings, worsted goods, iron castings, leather, hatchets and building materials. Fishing and coasting in schooners has been carried on in decreasing number of vessels. Following the Civil War ten vessels owned in Hingham were engaged in cod and mackerel fishing but it has become an industry of much less importance in recent years.
Major-General Benjamin Lincoln, of Revolutionary fame, was born
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in Hingham, January 23, 1733. He was second in command of the army under General Gates that captured Burgoyne's forces. He after- wards served as Secretary of War, lieutenant-governor, and held other important offices, dying in 1810 in the house in which he was born.
The first fire engine in town was purchased in 1802 and was located at the Centre. It was private property and owned by a company of fifteen men, who christened it "Precedent." During the War of 1812, when fire company membership exempted men from the draft, the owners of the engine made money out of it by selling rights to persons liable to draft. Shortly after the purchase of this first one, another engine was bought at the lower part of the town. The town first took control of the engines in 1819.
In 1865 Hingham had several vessels employed in the mackerel and cod fisheries, with small craft also engaged in the coasting trade.
HULL
Political Barometer on Five Hills-Go to Hull-here the sympathetic cooperation of the linotyper and proofreader is fervently solicited-and you will find the greatest little town which makes the most noise for its size, has the oddest history, the smallest town territorially in the State, except Newburyport; and not many years ago the smallest in population, except Gosnold. That is not all its distinctions. It is built on five hills, connected by very narrow necks of land, contains Nan- tasket Beach, the salt water playground of the Commonwealth; has been regarded as a political barometer, and has breathed defiance to conservatism as naturally as its native salt air. For many years the vote of Hull indicated the relative political parties in Massachusetts elections, and the proverb came into circulation, "As goes Hull, so goes the State."
It is not a very long look from Hull to Commonwealth Pier in Boston, the outposts of Plymouth County and Suffolk County.
The population of Hull has increased in recent years and there are now nearly eight hundred male residents above the age of twenty years. Territorially, the town is still small, having only 1,400 acres. There were 2,803 houses assessed in 1926. The town now has an ef- ficient police department calling for an appropriation of $34,000, a school department costing $70,000, fire department costing $37,000, and tuition of high school pupils in Hingham and their transportation calling for $22,000. The total expenditures of the town, according to the report of the treasurer for 1906, were $1,122,570.
Hull occupies the extreme northwest corner of Plymouth County, is only nine miles by water from Boston and twenty-two miles by land. The peninsula of Nantasket, which runs from Hingham north to Point Allerton, and the land to the west, forming the southern line of Boston
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Harbor, is contained in the town of Hull, which is picturesque and in every way a most attractive place of residence. It is especially rich in summer homes, and connected with Boston by steamer service.
The town was incorporated May 29, 1644, and at that time had twenty dwelling houses, a fort and a church. The church was blown down in the famous gale of September, 1815. In 1776 the people of Hull were driven from their homes by the British. During the early part of the Revolution Lieutenant William Haswell had his home in Hull.
In the Civil War the town furnished, out of a population of about two hundred and fifty, twenty-four men. Those who died in service were Sergeant A. P. Loring, N. R. Hooper and J. M. Cleverly.
The first mention of the area called Hull in the records of the State was under date of May 29, 1644, Old Style. It was then the plantation called "Nantascot." The first-comers were John Oldham, John Lyford and Roger Conant. Oldham was "expelled from Plymouth Colony for seditious practices." John Lyford was a minister and also expelled from the Plymouth Colony. Conant was, according to one record, "a pious, sober and prudent gentleman, a man of great worth."
According to the State records, Hull was first mentioned as a town in May, 1647. The Brewster Islands were granted to Hull in 1663.
KINGSTON
Building of "Independence" and "Mars"-To Kingston must be given the credit of building the first war vessel launched for use in the Revo- lutionary War. Captain Simeon Sampson, a native of Kingston, was commissioned by the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts the first naval captain in the service. He was placed in command of the brig "Independence" and later of the "Mars." Both ships were built at Kingston Landing at the Drew shipyards.
The town was one of importance in shipbuilding in early days and remained so for many years. A generation or two ago there were many retired ship masters residing in Kingston and fishing schooners were sent to the Grand Banks cod fishing which hailed from Kingston Landing. The last of these schooners were the "Mary Baker" and the "Fisher," owned by the late Edward Holmes. There is little left in the town to remind one of the shipping days, except a figurehead standing in a front yard on Main Street, which originally belonged to one of the famous Kingston vessels. Even one hundred years ago ship timber had become practically exhausted in Kingston and was brought from Middleboro, Halifax and Plympton.
Kingston, like other Plymouth County towns, is now finding poultry raising an industry well worth adopting. Just over the line in Duxbury is one of the largest plants from which broilers are shipped to the New
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York market. This is one of the largest broiler-producing plants in the East.
The town observed its two hundredth anniversary in August, 1926. At that time the total number of male residents in the town, twenty years of age or over, was 832. The town appropriations amounted to $110,315, of which $40,000 was spent for schools, $12,000 for highways, and $17,474 for special highway work on Main Street and Wapping Road. In 1927 an excellent piece of highway through Stony Brook, was built, with the cooperation of the State Highway Commission. This was, before the street was rebuilt and widened, one of the most beautiful streets in Plymouth County, with towering elm trees on both sides, nearly overlapping when in full leaf in mid-summer, furnishing shade, comfort and beauty. They were all ruthlessly sacrificed to furnish more width for motor car traffic which is especially heavy throughout that street.
There were 969 dwelling houses in the city in 1926 and 9,372 acres of land assessed. The number of residents taxed on property was 738 and the number of non-residents 511, including summer residents who have built up pretty villages of summer homes at Rocky Nook and elsewhere.
The Frederick C. Adams Public Library contains approximately 12,000 books and a large number and selection of magazines, weekly and daily newspapers. The total circulation is nearly 10,000, which shows that the library is used and appreciated.
Included in the program of the two hundredth anniversary celebration of the town on June 27, were an oration by Hon. Herbert Parker and three rousing cheers for Mr. and Mrs. Edgar P. Reed of Worcester who donated a beautiful community house, erected on the Kingston Playground. The playground itself was completed in the anniversary years, after four years of community work.
The principal observance of the anniversary was on August 20 and 21, with an excellent parade, addresses by Governor Alvan T. Fuller, Lieutenant-governor Frank T. Allen, Senator William M. Butler and others. The orator of the day was ex-Governor Channing H. Cox. Alexander Holmes was president of the day.
A pageant was given on the grounds of the Bradford House which was built by Major John Bradford on land which had belonged to his grandfather, Governor William Bradford. In that house had been preserved through many years the priceless Bradford manuscript, giving intimate details concerning the Pilgrims and their experiences in the Plymouth Colony. The house was erected two hundred and fifty-two years before the celebration. A Colonial ball took place in the Com- munity Building in the evening.
The pageant, representing the history of the Bradford House, was
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repeated the following day and three ball games were given on the newly completed playground, with a band concert and fireworks in the evening.
An exhibit of objects of historic interest took place in the "Spencer Cushman House," one of marine interest redolent of the shipbuilding days in the Centre Primary School Building; and an industrial exhibit showing the work of the present day at the Town Hall, during the week of the celebration.
Two books were published in connection with the celebration, "Ships of Kingston," written by Henry M. Jones; and "The Civic Progress of Kingston and a History of Her Industries," by Miss Emily F. Drew and Mrs. Sarah Y. Bailey.
Captain Fred L. Bailey was chairman of the celebration committee.
In 1926 a World War Memorial was erected on the triangular piece of ground on Patuxet Hill. There are three panels of Westerly granite mounted on a base of Deer Island granite. In the central panel is a bronze plate bearing the names of one hundred and thirty-two men and women of Kingston engaged in service during the World War. Above the plate bearing the names, is a bronze decorative medallion.
A substantial addition to the High School building was completed in 1926. In arrangement and availability for high school purposes the building is one of the best in the State. The Kingston School Depart- ment spends $40,000 annually, a cost of $73.80 per pupil, the number enrolled being 542. The valuation of the town in 1926 was $3,065,777.
Historic House Moved to Duxbury-In Colonial days, when the Gov- ernor Bradford House, near Kingston Landing, was attacked by the Indians, the men, fearing for the safety of women and children, formed a plan of conveying them to the Gray Homestead, a substantial house, the home of the wealthiest man in the colony, sometimes used as a fort in times of Indian warfare. The Bradford House was set afire by the Indians, but after the women and children had been safely provided for at the Gray house, the men drove the Indians away and extinguished the fire.
The Gray Homestead remained in the possession of the Gray family several generations. The last owner by that name, Edward Gray, was the last man living in a house in Kingston which had never been out of the possession of the original family. In recent years it had been owned by Nicholas Schilling. In July, 1927, he sold it to Albert S. Geiger of Cambridge, who had the house torn down and rebuilt on Duck Hill, Duxbury, for his summer residence.
The old historic towns which witnessed the beginnings of Colonial life in America have for many years been the abiding places in summer months for wealthy people who have been interested in relics, antiques
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and associations and frequently lived in houses which were the homes of early colonists, but it is seldom that a house of such marked historic interest had been demolished and reerected in another historic town.
The old timbers which the Indians attempted to set on fire, when the fearful war-whoop instead of the honk of a motor car were common in this vicinity, appeared able to resist the strain of another two or three hundred years when put together in their new location.
Concerning the incident of the plundering and setting on fire of the Governor Bradford House, and the transferring of women and children to the Gray house, it is related that Deputy Governor Bradford was a major in King Philip's War. The house of his son, John, who was doubtless in the service with him, was at the Landing, but for the protection of his wife, to whom he had just been married, he tem- porarily removed to the guardhouse at Plymouth town.
One day as he was returning to his house, with several soldiers, for the purpose of taking some of the goods he had left, he discovered it to be on fire, and saw an Indian standing on the brow of Abraham's Hill, stationed as a sentinel to warn his comrades of the approach of the white man, waving his blanket and crying, "Chockway, Chockway," (the white men are coming), but so intent were the Indians on plunder- ing that they heeded not their sentinel's cry and were not aware of their danger until Bradford rushed among them.
They instantly fled and made their way into a dense swamp at the foot of Abraham's Hill, where the town playground and Community House are now located, and were pursued by Bradford, who fired at one of them and supposed him killed, as he saw him fall. On reaching the spot, he was greatly surprised not to find the body of his enemy. He was at a loss how to account for the circumstances until after the war, when an Indian made known to him the fact that he was the one fired at, giving evidence of this by marks of the bullet shot through his side, and declaring that he had crept behind some logs to escape the notice of the pursuer.
After the war, Mr. Bradford rebuilt on the same spot, in which for a long time was preserved his grandfather's manuscript history of New Plymouth; but which, a short time before his death, in 1736, he loaned to Thomas Prince, who kept his library in the steeple of the Old South Church at Boston. The manuscript, with other books, was carried to England during the Revolutionary War, and lodged in the Fulham Library, where, until 1855, it was concealed from the public, and for many years was supposed to be irrevocably lost. It has since been pub- lished by the Massachusetts Historical Society, and is a most authentic and valuable contribution to the history of the first settlement.
Kingston Much Liked By the "First Comers"-For more than a
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hundred years Kingston was "The North End" of Plymouth. Twice it narrowly escaped being the most famous locality of the Old Colony. The day after the company from the "Mayflower" first landed, a party went, some by land, and some in the shallop, to look for a more desirable place for settlement. They reported "a great liking to plant" at Jones' River, but after prayer and reflection "the most voices" fixed upon Plymouth. In March, 1635-6, a project was set on foot and was earnestly advocated by a viewing committee of the court, consisting of some of the chief men in the colony, to remove from both Plymouth and Dux- bury, and to unite in a new town at Jones' River; but after long debating and a reference to the two churches for a final decision, the matter was silently dropped.
Though at the time of the landing all the region about was temporar- ily deserted of the natives, two burial grounds, one where the Patuxet House was later located, and the other, in the ridge north of the Ever- green Cemetery, together with the frequent discovery of arrow-heads, mortars, and hearth-stones, show that Kingston was a favorite resort of the Indians. The last one of the tribe dwelling in the town, as handed down by the "oldest inhabitant," was a woman, whose wigwam was at Blackwater, and who was famed the country around for her superior cooking.
The earliest road from Plymouth to Duxbury was nearer the shore than the present one, crossing Jones' River at the "Wading Place," near the almshouse, and thence, passing over Abraham's Hill, through Stony Brook, meeting another road which started near the Plymouth line and crossed the river, at its mouth, by a ferry. Later, the main road passed by a bridge near the Landing. A later highway and bridge were opened in 1708.
Both the ancient ferry and bridge were subjects of frequent legislation. At one time Captain Myles Standish was ordered by the court to repair the bridge, even if he had to press men into the service. For a time, Governor Bradford had his residence on Stony Brook Hill, the place now marked by a boulder, suitably inscribed. His son, Deputy Gov- ernor Bradford, lived and died upon the same spot. Joseph Bradford, another son of the governor, settled a little southeast of the Landing.
Isaac Allerton, for several years the governor's sole assistant, and afterwards the enterprising agent of the Pilgrims, and his son-in-law, "that precious servant of God," Elder Thomas Cushman, whose wife, Mary, was the last survivor of the "Mayflower" band, lived a few rods northeast from the house of "Grandfather Cobb," who died in 1801, aged more than 107 years. John Howland and Elizabeth, his wife, ended their long pilgrimage at the Nook, near the road to the old ferry. Samuel Fuller, the "beloved physician" and deacon of the church, and Francis Cook, the progenitor of an extensive race of Cooks, dwelt
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near Smelt Brook. John Billington, the discoverer of the "Sea," has left his name to the rocks in the bay near the town line, and Edward Gray, "the merchant," who came some years later, settled a little to the north of where his descendant and namesake later resided.
Bradfords Prominent in the Old World-So much that is historically true was recorded by Governor William Bradford, that would have been lost to the world without his faithful writings, that his early ancestry becomes especially interesting. The Lewis Historical Publishing Com- pany of New York, in one of a series of genealogical volumes, makes the following mention of the Bradford Family :
While the name Bradford has been one of the most notable in the history of New England since the founding of Plymouth Colony three hundred years ago, it has been equally prominent in the annals of the Old Dominion. There is perhaps no single one among the hundreds of prominent American family names which has been made the subject of more extended mention in genealogical works than that of Bradford, or has produced a greater quota of distinguished public characters. From the time of Governor William Bradford to the present day men have not been lacking in practically every department of American affairs to carry on the tradition of the name.
Bradford as a surname is derived from a local source, i. e., from towns and parishes of the name which are found in the West Riding of York- shire, in Wilts, Dorset, Somersetshire and Devonshire, and in North- umberland in Old England. The family in England dates back to the twelfth century, when one Alexander de Bradeford was a resident of Northumberland in the year 1197. From that date onward the family was one of considerable importance in various parts of England. One of the first martyrs burned at the stake during the reign of Queen Mary was John Bradford, prebend of St. Paul, and a celebrated Protestant preacher. John Bradford was born in Manchester, Lancashire, about 1510, and was executed July 1, 1555, at Smithfield; he was a friend of and fellow-martyr with Rogers, Hooper, Saunders, Latimer, Cranmer and Ridley, who suffered death by burning about the same period. Still another Bradford was Lord Bishop of Rochester and dean of West- minister. The coat-of-arms of the Bradford Family is as follows:
Arms-Argent, on a fess sable three stags' heads erased or.
Crest-A stag's head erased or.
Motto -- Fier et sage.
Kingston Furnished Two Revolutionary War Generals-When a Committee of Correspondence was chosen for Kingston, in 1774, John Thomas was the leader and Peleg Wadsworth also prominent. The latter became Captain Wadsworth, in command of a company of minute- men, in 1775, when the town provided "firearms and accoutrements to
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equip thirty-three soldiers completely." When word of the battle of Lexington and the Concord fight was received, this company marched to join Colonel Cotton's regiment and attack a body of British soldiers stationed at Marshfield. Lieutenant Seth Drew of the company was at work in the Drew Shipyard at Kingston Landing, burning the refuse from the bottom of a ship, with a lighted tar barrel, when informed of the shooting at Lexington. He passed the burning barrel to another workman, joined his company, in the same haste that Israel Putnam had left his plough in the field. Major Drew (the title he won later in the war) did not return until the war was over.
John Thomas was one of the selectmen at the outbreak of the war and became a general in the army. He was in command of the American forces at Dorchester Heights, which compelled the evacuation of Boston by the British troops. He later became major-general in command of the army in Canada. He died early in 1776.
Captain Peleg Wadsworth rose to the rank of brigadier-general and had command of the District of Maine. When the war was over he was a member of Congress eight years and a prominent merchant in Portland. His daughter became the mother of Henry Wadsworth Long- fellow, the poet, and it was he who built the "Wadsworth-Longfellow House" as it is called, in Portland. General Wadsworth had two sons in the American naval service in the War of 1812, Alexander Scammel Wadsworth, second lieutenant on board the "Constitution" when she defeated the "Guerrière;" and Henry Wadsworth, lieutenant under Commodore Preble at the siege of Tripoli. Lieutenant Wadsworth was killed at Tripoli at the age of twenty.
Commander, Inventors, Author, Scholars-In time of the Adams- Franco War Commodore James Sever commanded the frigate "Con- gress." The first anchors for the navy were made in Kingston by Deacon Jedediah Holmes. Jesse Reed invented the first nail and tack machines. John Washburn invented the screw augers which brought to an end "the old pod-auger days." Samuel Adams gave to the world the first mowing machine, taking a good share of the backache out of agriculture.
Hon. John Holmes, a native of Kingston, was a United States Senator, born in Kingston, in March, 1773, emigrated to Maine, was author of the Constitution of Maine, and died in Portland, Maine, July 7, 1843. Joseph R. Chandler, editor, member of Congress, scholar, was born in Kingston in 1792.
One of the most precocious scholars was Samuel B. Parris, son of Rev. Martin Parris, one of Kingston's early schoolmasters. Before he was eighteen months old, Samuel B. Parris had learned the Hebrew alphabet and was proficient in that sacred language before he learned
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English grammar. At the age of six he began to keep a diary in Latin. He entered college at nine, after passing a successful examination in the classical languages and higher mathematics, while being held in the lap of one of the professors who marveled at his knowledge. Many writings came from his pen, among them a poem on "Anticipations and Recollections." This and other writings were published after his death at the age of twenty-one. The following is a quotation from "Anticipations and Recollections :"
Scenes of early pleasure! years may pass, In life's united tragedy and farce; But, with oblivion's "Besom," ne'er shall they Sweep thy remembrance from my thoughts away.
Whitefield Caused Change in Ministers-The first minister of the church was Rev. Joseph Stacey, a graduate of Harvard College. Rev. Daniel Lewis of Pembroke preached the ordination sermon November 2, 1790. He had in his parish nine grandsons and one great-grandson of Governor Bradford, with their families; Wrestling Brewster, a great- grandson of Elder Brewster; Francis Cook, a great-grandson of Francis Cook of the "Mayflower," and many others one or two generations re- moved from the first-comers in the "Mayflower," the "Ann" and the "Fortune." Major John Bradford, on January 5, 1721, made a deed of gift to Rev. Mr. Stacey of two acres of land for his house lot. This was at the fork of the roads, Summer and Main streets; and in front of the house, until the town water system was put in, the "Old Point Well" was regarded as common property from which people from considerable distances were wont to receive refreshment.
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