History of Plymouth county, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 50

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1706

USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > History of Plymouth county, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 50

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The actors in those scenes of political strife have nearly all passed away, and a new generation has come upon the stage of action; and it now seems strange at this day that men could ever have been so completely carried away by the noise and excitement of that unique log-cabin and hard-cider campaign.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

Early Pastors of the Congregational Church. -REV. ROWLAND THATCHER. - Rev. Rowland Thatcher, the first ordained minister of Wareham, was born in Barnstable. He was a graduate of Har- vard in 1733, ordained Dec. 26, 1739, and died Feb. 18, 1775. His name is clerical in Massachusetts,- Mather is hardly more so. He died in office at a good age, having served the church in this town more than thirty-five years, and left behind him the fra- grance of his good name and the fruits of his faithful labors.

REV. JOSIAH COTTON .- Rev. Josiah Cotton, the second pastor, borc another clerical name of just celebrity. He was a graduate of Yale, and was or- dained Nov. 1, 1775. He was a young man of ample talent and popular address, but less grave in manners and less zealous in spirit than his predecessor. Find- ing that his ministry was not satisfactory, he resigned his office May 31, 1779, and subsequently the pro-

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REV. NOBLE EVERETT .- Rev. Noble Everett, the third pastor, was born in Woodbury, Conn., and a graduate of Yale in 1772. He was a chaplain in the Revolutionary army, and was present at the battle of White Plains. He was ordained in Wareham, Oct. 15, 1782, and died in office Dec. 30, 1819.

He read the Hebrew Scriptures with familiarity, and was justly esteemed sound in doctrine, prudent in discipline, and upright in conduct. He was of the school of the famous Bellamy, earnest and substan- tial, rather than accurate or conciliating. He dis- claimed the use of the pen, and depended much on the impulse of the hour, yet he was often impressive, both in grave preaching and in earnest prayer.

Under his instruction Ebenezer Burgess, D.D., John Mackie, M.D., of Providence, R. I., Andrew Mackie, M.D., of New Bedford, Mass., both eminent physicians, Timothy G. Coffin, Esq., so long a shining light at the Bristol bar, and others were fitted for college.

REV. SAMUEL NOTT, JR .- The subject of this sketch was a native of the State of Connecticut. He was the son of Samuel Nott, D.D., of Franklin, Conn., and a nephew of the celebrated Eliphalet Nott, D.D., so long president of Union College, Schenectady, N. Y. In the year 1808, young Nott, while studying theology with his father at Franklin, became deeply impressed with the conviction of his duty to carry the gospel to the heathen. Adoniram Judson, Jr., Samuel J. Mills, James Richards, Luther Rice, and Gordon Hall, all young men of about the same age, had similar feelings, and in 1809 and 1810 all six were brought providentially together at Ando- ver, Mass., "and becoming known to each other, were soon united in bonds of Christian affection. Henceforward their plans were formed in common. One leading impulse moved them all. They con- versed together, they prayed together, and they labored together to kindle the missionary flame in Andover, in many of the colleges of our country, and among the churches wherever they were called to preach. In this manner they cultivated the spirit of self-devotion in their own hearts and were anx- iously looking for those indications of Divine Provi- dence which should point out the way in which their desires might be accomplished." In February, 1812, Samuel Nott, Jr., Gordon Hall, and Luther Rice sailed from Philadelphia, and Adoniram Judson, Jr., and Samuel Newell sailed from Salem, Mass., bound to Calcutta,-they all having been appointed mission- arics to India by the American Board of Commis- sioners for Foreign Missions,-and they were the first missionaries to forcign lands that ever left the

shores of America. Thus did this young Christian hero, " at the age of twenty-threc, at the commence- ment of his ministry, in the strength of his youth and talent, and when he was earnestly desired as a pastor in his native land, checrfully relinquish the certainty of a pleasant pastorate and all the delights of home and friends to carry out the one great de- sire of his heart, which was to preach Christ to the heathen. At that time, too, missionary life was beset with difficulties, many of which do not now exist, nor was it brightened with the hope of revisiting the beloved native land, which now a missionary may do with ease.

"Thus he freely gave up all his bright prospects and went joyfully on his mission to the heathen.

" He went to India, he sickened, he came back with health shattered for life, and with the gricvous disappointment added of being obliged to give up the work he had so much at heart. Had he not given up all-the glory of his youth, his strength and health-to his Lord and Master ? When we take into consideration what he gave up in early youth,- possessing fine talents, a fine education, laying all at his Saviour's feet, and going to heathen lands, in which, at that time, persecution abounded for Chris- tian missionaries,-we see the extent of the sacrifice which he cheerfully made for Christ and the heathen.

" Then came the Christian struggle in his native land, and with that struggle and ill health the con- stant remembrance of his great disappointment. But, as Christ's steward, he persevered, feeling sure that all these trials were sent in mercy by his Heav- enly Father."

In July, 1829, Mr. Nott was ordained pastor of the Congregational Church in Wareham, and here for twenty years labored ardently as far as his health would permit.

In addition to his pulpit and pastoral labors he found time to write for the press many useful and instructive volumes. Among these may be named " The Telescope," "Sermons on the Fowls of the Air and the Lilies of the Field," and " Sermons on Public Worship."

Resigning his pastorate in 1849, he for many years taught a private school, and in the year 1868 he removed from Wareham to Hartford, Conn., to spend the remnant of his days with one of his sons, who had long been located in that city.

There was one incident that occurred during Mr. Nott's residence in Wareham that must not bo omitted from this brief biographical sketch. It occurred in the year 1845. Dr. Judson, his early friend and colaborer, after an absence of thirty-three years, had

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returned to his native land. His name had become famous throughout the earth. Soon after his arrival in Boston a public reception was tendered him at the Bowdoin Square Church. An immense throng crowded the spacious edifice, and it was one of the most affecting meetings ever held in that or any other city. "The great congregation was moved by a mighty impulse. Language could not give vent to emotions which struggled in every bosom. The eye affected the heart. There he stood among the pastors of our churches, the long-loved, the toil-worn mis- sionary ; the man who had been brought before kings and councils; who had been in bonds, in dungeons, and in chains; who had been led away to be put to death, but by the overruling hand of God had been preserved ; who, when liberated, returned to his own company, and with a fortitude which the terrors of martyrdom could not shake, love which neither in- gratitude, nor cruelty, nor fear could quench, again set himself patiently and quietly to the work of turn- ing the deluded Burmans from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God."

The wife of his youth that accompanied him to India-that brave, gifted, matchless, Christian hero- ine-was sleeping under the hopia-tree; and had he not just come from the burial of his second wife at St. Helena, a companion as sacred to him as the first, and, perhaps, not less gifted, who, when almost in sight of the isle that was to be her burial-place, like the dying swan, poured forth her sweetest numbers ?

Rev. Dr. Sharp, president of the Board of Missions, and the oldest pastor present, gave the address of welcome. " During the singing which followed, a gentleman was seen to pass rapidly up the aisle into the pulpit, and to embrace Dr. Judson with un- common warmth and ardor, which was as ardently reciprocated, while the emotions which lighted up their countenances gave to silence more than the ex- pressiveness of language. As the gentleman was a stranger to the audience, every one appeared deeply desirous to know who he was. He was soon, how- ever, introduced as the Rev. Samuel Nott, Jr., the only surviving member, besides Mr. Judson, of that first company of missionaries, five in number, sent out from this country by the American Board. Sam- uel Newell, Gordon Hall, and Luther Rice are gone to their reward. Mr. Nott, after remaining a few years in the mission field, was compelled to return to this country, and is now the pastor of the Congrega- tional Church in Wareham, Mass. As soon as he heard of the arrival of Mr. Judson, he set out with all speed for Boston to greet him, and hearing that he was in the Bowdoin Square Church, he had come

there to see and take him by the hand. Being intro- duced to the audience by Dr. Sharp, with the request that he would gratify them with a few remarks, he said he had given the hand of fellowship to his brother Judson in youth, when they were fellow- students and fellow-missionaries. 'And,' said he, ' though on our reaching the missionary field he be- came a Baptist, and I did not, yet I did not withdraw the hand of fellowship from my brother Judson.' He spoke of their early conversations on the subject of missions, and said it was of no importance whether Adoniram Judson, Jr., or Samuel J. Mills, Jr., was the first who conceived the enterprise of foreign mis- sions to the East. Of one thing he was sure: it was not Samuel Nott, Jr., though he was also sure that he had thought of it before any one had mentioned the subject to him. His belief was that the minds of several had, separately and independently, been turned to the subject by the spirit of God."

Mr. Nott, as before remarked in this chapter, re- paired to the house of his son to spend the evening of his life, but in less than a year from the time of his removal from Wareham to Hartford he was called to his eternal reward. On his gravestone is the following inscription :

" Rev. Samuel Nott. Born in Franklin, September 11th, A.D. 1788. Died in Hartford, June Ist, A.D. 1869. A devoted and faithful Minister of Christ, both As a Missionary to India and as a Pastor in his native land. ' Well done, thou good and faithful servant.'"

GEN. ISRAEL FEARING .- During the war of the Revolution, on the 7th of September, 1778, the British troops made an attempt to destroy the vil- lage of Fairhaven, but were bravely repulsed by a small force, commanded by Maj. Israel Fearing, of Wareham. The enemy, a day or two previously, had burned houses and destroyed a large amount of property at New Bedford. The following is from Dwight's "Travels," vol. iii. p. 71 : " From New Bedford they marched around to the head of the river to Sconticut Point, on the eastern side, leaving in their course, for some unknown reason, the villages of Oxford and Fairhaven. Here they continued till Monday, and then re-embarked. The following night a large body of them proceeded up the river, with a design to finish the work of destruction by burning Fairhaven. A critical attention to their movements had convinced the inhabitants that this was their design, and induced them to prepare for their re- ception. The militia of the neighboring country had ' been summoned to the defense of this village.

" Their commander was a man far advanced in

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years. Under the influence of that languor which at this period enfeebles both the body and the mind, he determined that the plaee must be given up to the enemy, and that no opposition to their ravages eould be made with any hope of success. This decision of their officer necessarily spread its benumbing influence over the militia, and threatened an absolute preven- tion of all enterprise, and the destruction of this handsome village.

" Among the officers belonging to the brigade was Israel Fearing, Esq., a major of one of the regiments. This gallant young man, observing the torpor which was spreading among the troops, invited as many as had sufficient spirit to follow him and station them- selves at the post of danger. Among those who ac- cepted the invitation was one of the colonels, who of course became the commandant; but after they had arrived at Fairhaven, and the night had come on, he proposed to march the troops back into the country. He was warmly opposed by Maj. Fearing, and, find- ing that he could not prevail, prudently retired to a house three miles distant, where he passed the night in safety. After the colonel had withdrawn, Maj. Fearing, who was only thirty years of age, but who was now commander-in-chief, arranged his men with activity and skill, and soon perceived the British approaching. The militia, in the strictest sense raw, already alarmed by the reluctance of their superior officers to meet the enemy, and naturally judging that men of years must understand the real state of the danger better than Maj. Fearing, a mere youth, were panic-struck at the approach of the enemy, and instantly withdrew from their post. At this critical moment, Maj. Fearing, with the decision which awes men into a strong sense of duty, rallied them, and, placing himself in the rear, declared, in a tone which removed all doubt, that he would kill the first man whom he found retreating. The resolution of their chief recalled theirs. With the utmost expedition he led them to the scene of danger. The British had already set fire to several stores. Between these buildings and the rest of the village he stationed his troops, and ordered them to lie close in profound silence until the enemy, who were advancing, should have come so near that no marksman could easily mistake his object. The orders were punctually obcyed. When the enemy had arrived within this distance the Americans arose, and, with a well- directed fire, gave them a warm and unexpected re- ception. The British fled instantly to their boats, and fell down the river with the utmost expedition. From the quantity of blood found the next day in their line of march, it was supposed that their loss

was considerable. Thus did this heroic youth, in opposition to his superior officers, preserve Fairhaven, and merit a statue from its inhabitants."

Maj. Fearing was a man of striking and imposing personal presence, tall, ereet, with courtly manners, and a face that in old age retained the freshness of youth. He rose to the rank of major-general in the militia, and through life was one of the leading spirits of the town. He died March 2, 1826, aged seventy- eight years, and was buried in the cemetery at Ware- ham Centre. On his tombstone are these lines:

"The brave soldier ; the decided Christian ;

He was respected in life, and lamented in death."

His son, William Fearing, Esq., was a prominent citizen of this town, long engaged in active business, and amassed considerable wealth. Another son, Is- rael Fearing, Jr., was " a chip of the old block." He was captain of a small militia company when the British invaded Wareham in 1814, and mention is made of him in a former chapter of this work. He never feared the face of mortal man.

GEN. EBENEZER SWIFT .- Ebenezer Swift was born in Wareham, Oct. 8, 1817. He entered the United States army as a medical officer in the spring of 1847, and in August of the same year was pro- moted to a first lieutenant of his corps. He reported for duty to Gen. Franklin Pierce at Vera Cruz, and on the arrival of his division of the army at Puebla he was assigned to duty as aid to Gen. Lawson at Gen. Scott's headquarters, and with Capt. Phil Kearney, who commanded the general's body-guard. He was present in every battle in which our troops were engaged on the line from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico, except Cerro Gordo. At one time, dur- ing the battle of Molino del Rey, Gen Worth, who commanded in person, ordered him to fall back with our wavering lines, saying, "You are drawing fire from the enemy's artillery at Chapultepec." Dr. Swift, who was earnestly engaged, did not look up from his work, and, on account of smoke, dust, and noise, did not recognize the person addressing him, and simply replied, " I will, in a moment, after an- other amputation, sir." He had not discovered that our lines had been driven back in some disorder by the enemy, and that he was exposed to a fire in front and upon our right flank, while our troops were re- forming for another eharge.

Another incident of a similar nature oceurred later in the same day when his horse was shot while being held by his orderly.

The above was reported verbally to Gen. Seott, who personally complimented him in the presence of

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his entire staff, and subsequently mentioned him with favor in his report to the Secretary of War.

He several times commanded troops and posts on our Indian border; was military aid to Governor Walker in our Kansas troubles; and in the war of the Rebellion was recommended for promotion for gallant conduct at the battle of Stone River, in Ten- nessee. and in other engagements, for all of which he received three brevet commissions, the highest being brigadier-general.

During reconstruction South he was for more than a year mayor of the city of Vicksburg, and also in performance of other important civil duties.

Gen. Swift is still retained in the service of the United States and resides at Staten Island, occupying a mansion that was formerly the home of one of the Vanderbilts.

ANDREW MACKIE, M.D .- Andrew Mackie, M.D., was born in Southampton, L. I., July 12, 1742, and was the son of Dr. John Mackie. He removed to this town in 1764, in which, and its vicinity, he was for more than fifty years eminently useful in the prac- tice of medicine and surgery.

Jan. 16. 1775, the town of Wareham by vote re- fused to pay any province tax, or even a county tax, under the king's authority, and paid the province tax already made and collected to Dr. Andrew Mackie, with instructions that he keep it subject to the town's order.

March 18, 1776, he was appointed by the town one of a Committee of Correspondence, Inspection, and Safety.

March 2, 1778, he was elected to the same posi- tion, and again March 8, 1779. He was also one of the army surgeons.

May 13, 1784, he was chosen one of the deacons of the Congregational Church in Wareham, which office he filled with great fidelity until his decease.

He was town clerk of Wareham for a period of thirty-two consecutive years, and throughout his en- tire life his townsmen had implicit confidence in his ability and integrity. He died April 27, 1817.

Three of his sons became eminent physicians and surgeons,-Dr. John Mackie, of Providence, R. I., Dr. Peter Mackie, of Wareham, and Dr. Andrew Mackie, of New Bedford. One of his grandsons, Dr. John Howell Mackie, is at the present time one of the leading physicians and surgeons of New Bedford.

COL. ALEXANDER BOURNE .- Alexander Bourne was born in Wareham, Sept. 11, 1786. He emi- grated to Marietta, Ohio, in 1810, where he found employment for a while in the office of Judge Paul Fearing, a native of this place, for whom the town of |

Fearing, Washington Co., Ohio, was named. His work here was surveying and drawing. Judge Fear- ing kindly loaned him a fine case of drawing instru- ments that once belonged to the celebrated Blenner- hassett. Soon after this the auditor of the State employed him in his office, and pronounced him the best map-maker in the country. In 1811 he was employed by Gen. Duncan McArthur to copy the entries and surveys of the Virginia military bounty lands in Ohio. In the war of 1812, though without any military experience, he served as adjutant, judge- advocate, and, for a short time, as colonel, by appoint- ment of Governor Meigs. In the battle of Fort Meigs, one of the most sanguinary of the entire war, he greatly distinguished himself by his personal bravery. He was brave even to recklessness, and at one time during the battle Gen. Harrison cursed him fearfully for exposing himself so much to the fire of the enemy.

In Gen. Harrison's dispatches to the government, although there were fifty officers in the garrison that outranked him, the name of Alexander Bourne was the fourteenth mentioned for bravery and good con- duct. In 1814 he was appointed aide-de-camp to Governor Worthington ; in 1815, adjutant-general of the State of Ohio, and also to act as inspector-general. In 1816 he married Helen Mar, daughter of Gen. Duncan McArthur, who succeeded Gen. Harrison in the command of the Northwestern army, and was subsequently Governor of Ohio. Soon after this he was appointed by Governor Worthington, on the part of the State of Ohio, to settle the account of public arms with the government of the United States. In 1818, during the recess of Congress, he was appointed by President Monroe receiver of public money for the State of Ohio, and the appointment was subsequently confirmed by the Senate. During this year he wrote his first communication to Silliman's Journal in re- lation to the prairies and barrens of the Western country, and subsequently during life was an occa- sional contributor to our leading scientific journals. Some of these articles were republished in London. In 1827 he was appointed by Governor Trimble commissioner of the Ohio canals, the vacancy being caused by the death of Governor Worthington. In 1827 he was dismissed from the office of receiver of the public moncy for the State (an office he had held for nine years) by President Jackson because he pre- ferred John Quincy Adams for President, and would not change his flag to save his office. He was a member of the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio, a corresponding member of the Western Academy of Natural Sciences at Cincinnati, an hon- orary member of the Natural History Society of the

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Ohio University, and a corresponding member of the National Institutes, at Washington, D. C.

What a record for a man who graduated at a district school in his native town in the year 1804, when dis- trict schools were held but three months in a year ! In old age he came back to his native town, built him a plain, substantial residence, and here passed the evening of his life, respected and venerated by all who knew him. He passed away peacefully, hope- fully, and trustingly, Aug. 5, 1849. His manu- scripts, which have never been published, and were not designed for publication, show him to have been a brave soldier, a profound philosopher, a cultured scholar, an astute theologian, and a devout Christian.

EBENEZER BURGESS, D.D .- Ebenezer Burgess, D.D., was born in Wareham, April 1, 1790. He graduated at Brown University in 1809, with a dis- tinguished rank as a scholar. After graduating at Brown, he became a tutor in that college, and subse- quently a professor in the college at Middlebury, Vt. In connection with Samuel J. Mills, one of the great founders and originators of American missions, he sailed, on Nov. 16, 1817, for Africa, under the aus- pices of the American Colonization Society, became one of the founders of the colony at Liberia, and was invited to become its superintendent. He visited England both going and returning, and was presented to Macaulay, father of the eminent statesman and historian, and was cordially received by Wilberforce, Lord Bathurst, and Lord Gambier, who expressed deep interest for the African enterprise.

On his homeward voyage he buried at sea the heavenly-minded Mills, and arrived alone in his native land Oct. 22, 1818. Some years after this he mar- ried the daughter of Lieutenant-Governor William Phillips. After his settlement in Dedham, Mass., he was invited to take the presidency of Middlebury Col- lege, Vt., but declined. On the 30th of July, 1820, he preached for the first time in Dedham, and on March 13, 1821, was ordained pastor of the church with which he remained connected for forty years. His decease occurred Dec. 5, 1870. Weeping throngs dismissed him to heaven with their benediction.

JOHN MILTON MACKIE .-- John Milton Mackie, an American author, was born in Wareham in 1813. He was graduated, in 1832, at Brown University, where he was tutor from 1834 to 1838. In 1845 he pub- lished a " Life of Godfrey William von Leibnitz," a " Life of Samuel Gorton," and in 1848 appeared his " Cosas de España, or going to Madrid via Bar- celona."

Mr. Mackie has been known as a contributor to the North American Review of a number of articles

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History of Plymouth county, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 50

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & co. Number of Pages: 1706

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1706