USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Saugus > History of Saugus, Massachusetts. > Part 5
USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Saugus > History of Saugus, Massachusetts > Part 5
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From Saugus to Russia seems a far cry, but the in- cident of forwarding a letter from Franklin Park to General Guild, at Petrograd, reminds us that the visit of our native son, Guxtavus V. Fox, to Russia after the Civil War, has been declared by several writers to have been largely responsible for the purchase of Alaska by this country in 1867.
On May 16, 1866, Congress passed a resolution of greeting to the Emperor of Russia, and Fox was se- lected to carry a copy to the Russian ruler. This he did on the Miantonomoh, the first American ironclad to cross the Atlantic. He was the recipient of numer- ous honors, and after he had presented the copy of the resolutions to the Czar on August 8, he telegraphed to Secretary of State Seward of the fact, which cable was the first message from Russia to come to America by the Atlantic Cable, as was General Guild's letter to St. Petersburg the first one to be started to Russia by aeroplane from the aviation park years later.
The late Robert C. Winthrop, a distinguished Massa- chusetts man, before the Massachusetts Historical So- ciety, in November, 1883, paid a remarkable tribute to Fox, this son of Saugus, saying, among other things : "He was a man of great intelligence, accomplishments, and ability ; no one rendered more valuable service to the Navy, and to the whole Country, during the late Civil War, than he did."
U. S. S. SAUGUS
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Fox died in New York City, Oct. 29, 1883, and was not only a very prominent figure during the war, "but was in a large measure responsible for altering the national boundaries when through the instrumental- ity of his mission to Rusia, the vast territory of Alaska, then the property of that empire, was added to the domain of the American Republic," certainly an inter- esting historical fact to chronicle in this the hour of our Centennial celebration in Saugus, where Gustavus V. Fox was born in 1821.
Through the influence of Fox, a monitor of the United States Navy was named "Saugus," a brief his- tory of which is timely. The vessel was a single turret monitor, 4th rate, 2 guns, and 2100 tons displacement. It was built by the Harlan Hollingsworth Co., at Wil- mington, Delaware, under contract dated Oct. 13, 1862, at a cost of $460,000; completed April 9, 1864, and put in commission April 7, 1864 ; North Atlantic Squad- ron, 1865 ; laid up at Washington, D. C., in 1866; and sold at Washington, April 20, 1891.
Another prominent citizen of the 1815 period was Samuel Hawkes, born Dec. 4, 1816. He was a son of Ahijah, who was chairman of the first board of select- men. Members of the present generation remember Samuel Hawkes well. He was a Democratic member of the Legislature in 1854, the last year the State had a Whig Governor. He was appointed by Governor Rus- sell as a delegate to the National Farmers' Congress held at Sedalia, Mo., in 1891. Mr. Hawkes rendered
SAMUEL HAWKES
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efficient service as Chairman of the Boards of Select- men and Overseers of the Poor and as Town Modera- tor. He was exceedingly well versed in town affairs in his time, and by general consent his suggestions as to the amount of the annual appropriations of the Town were almost invariably adopted. From its es- tablishment in 1888, he had been a member of the Sinking Fund Commission, to which he was re-elected at the March meeting of 1903, though known to be seriously ill. He died March 24 of the same year.
The 1820 census gave Saugus 748 people. On April 3, 1815, we cast 150 votes for governor. At the last State election, Nov. 3, 1914, we cast 1193 votes for gov- ernor. On April 1, 1914, the population, as taken by the asessors, was 9,360, and Town Clerk Henry A. Parker gives it as his opinion that the population at the present writing, June 1, 1915, is very close to 10,000. The valuation of our real and personal prop- erty on April 1, 1914, was $6,943,355. Fifty years ago, 1865, the valuation was $1,349,517, and the tax rate $17 a thousand. In 1914 the rate was $25.40. In 1860, it was $6.80.
The first Town meeting, under the new form of gov- ernment, held on March 13, 1815, elected to office the following persons :
Moderator, William Jackson.
Town Clerk, Richard Mansfield.
Selectmen, Assessors, and Overseers of Poor, Ahijah Hawkes, Jonathan Makepeace, Richard Mansfield.
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Treasurer, Joseph Cheever.
Collector of Taxes, Richard Shute.
Constables, Caleb Downing, William Sweetser.
Surveyors of Highway, John Batts, Thomas Hitch- ings, Benjamin Wilson.
School Committee, Thomas Mansfield, Joseph Ames, Solomon Brown, Benjamin Goldthwaite, Jonathan Makepeace, Jacob Newhall.
Fence Viewers, Ebenezer Bancroft, John Raddin, Ebenezer Hawkes.
Tything Men, Zachariah Mansfield, Thomas Hitch- ings, James Cheever, William Nelson, James Howard.
Hog Reeves, Thomas Mansfield, James Howard, Jo- seph Dampney, Nathaniel Mansfield, John Felch.
Pound Keeper, James Cheever.
Sealer of Weights and Measures, Jonathan Make- peace.
Surveyor of Lumber, David Capen.
CITIZEN SOLDIERY
TN all the wars which the country has been engaged, Saugus has never failed to send forth the flower of its citizenship. That was true of the Revolution. It was equally true of the Civil War. In the trying days of 1861, the town had 163 enlisted men, eight of whom served in the Navy. Gen. E. W. Hinks, Post 95, G. A. R., is one of the most honored of Saugus' organizations,
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representing, as it does, the Civil War Veterans and their valorous deeds of bravery. Charles A. Newhall was its first commander and James F. Pratt is the pres- ent occupant of that office. The names of all the soldiers and sailors from Saugus in that period are inscribed on the enduring bronze tablets of the soldiers' monu- ment at the Centre, to which the reader is referred for more detailed information in this regard. This monument was the gift of the late Henry E. Hone, and occupies, worthily, one of the most prominent places in our leading public square.
Saugus was also well represented in the Spanish War.
CONCLUSION
W E are "loath to close." The subject deserves more space and attention, but both are denied us. In fact, we were not advised that the willing task of preparing this history was to fall to our unworthy hands until May 11, 1915, which gave us less than two months in which to prepare it, among multitudi- nous other duties. Deeply conscious of its many er- rors and omissions, it is submitted in the hope that it may at least answer some useful purpose, and, in small measure, indicate that even though Saugus is a small
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Town, there are those who love her. Why, is attempted to be shown herewith.
The history of Saugus ought to be taught in its pub- lic schools, for Saugus has a very fine record, not ex- celled by any other cities or towns in the State, ex- cepting, possibly, Boston, Salem, Plymouth, Lexing- ton, and Concord, which are very rich in historical data and legendary lore.
As Bovee, in his Summaries of Thought, well says: "Truth comes to us from the past as gold is washed down from the mountains, in minute but precious par- ticles, and intermixed with infinite alloy, the debris of centuries."
Our pupils who are learning a great deal about other history, ancient and modern, might well glean something of the truth of their own Town. It would make them proud of Saugus, as well as better citi- zens of it.
Nescio qua natale solum dulcedine captos Ducit, et immemores non sinit esse sui.
"Our native land charms us with inexpressible sweetness, and never allows us to forget that we be- long to it."-Ovid.
Non exercitus, neque thesauri, praesidia regni sunt, verum amici.
"The safety of a kingdom is not its armies, nor its treasuries, but its friends."
JOHN BURRILL HOUSE, NEWBURYPORT TURNPIKE
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THE SAUGUS CENTENNIAL PAGEANT By MISS ESTHER WILLARD BATES
EPISODE I
THE BRIDAL OF PENNACOOK.
"Lift we the silent curtain of the Past, And, turning from familiar sight and sound, Sadly and full of reverence let us cast
A glance upon Tradition's shadowy ground.
For the Saugus Sachem had come to woo The Bashaba's daughter, Weetamoo, And laid at her father's feet that night His softest furs and wampum white." -Whittier.
The scene of the episode is laid in the village of Pennacook, now Concord, New Hampshire, where dwells Papasiquineo, a great chieftain and medicine man. He has called his braves in council to consult with them, for Montowampate, Sachem of Saugus, has sought the hand of his daughter, Weetamoo. They agree to consider his offer, provided he can win the consent of the princess. Montowampate comes up the river in his canoes, bringing costly gifts. The father permits him to make his offer to the maid by seating himself at her side. If she remains, he is accepted; if she rises, he must go away alone.
Meantime, Papasiquineo, who is reputed to have had the gift of prophecy, takes his tomtom and asks the Great Spirit to reveal to him his daughter's future wel-
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fare. The visions that come to him are tragic. He sees the maid neglected and unloved, he sees her alone and in peril in the snowy woods, he hears the war cry of the Taratines, and thoroughly alarmed, he leaps up and begs his daughter not to depart with Montowam- pate. But it is too late and the maid has chosen. She follows her husband down the river, and her father, mounting to a great rock, waves her a last farewell.
The substance of the episode is taken from Whittier, from Thomas Morton's New Canaan, and from Lewis and Newhall's History of Lynn.
EPISODE II
THE PIRATES OF PIRATE GLEN.
Thomas Dexter, who, in 1657, owns and operates the first Iron Works in America, has been secretly ap- prised that if manacles and chains are left in a certain place, they will be taken away and silver left in their place. He immediately comes to the conclusion that the secret purchasers are the pirates known to be in hiding in the woods, and whose capture is desired by the British Government. A group of Colonial Men, guided by Dexter, come up the river, using the pirate flag as a decoy, and the unhappy men are captured and sent to London-there being no law in the Colony at that time to punish piracy. But Thomas Veal, one of the pirates, makes his escape, and for years afterwards
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lives in the woods as a recluse, till, one day, while se- cretly visiting his treasure cave, an earthquake oc- curs, and forever seals the doomed corsair in his rocky tomb. According to Samuel Adams Drake, "the pi- rates mistress, who is described as very beautiful, having sickened and died, is buried here in an unknown grave."
EPISODE III
MAJOR APPLETON AND THE FIRST SPEECH FOR LIBERTY.
The children are out in the field, playing very hap- pily at "Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Grow," one of the old English games which hold sway over children even to the present day. The townspeople are coming down the road, greatly agitated over Governor Andros and his latest acts of tyranny. Major Samuel Apple- ton is with them, and because he has always been a leader in Town, because he commanded Saugus troops in the Indian War two years before, they appeal to him, and he leaps upon the rock which is to bear his name through later centuries, and makes the first speech for Liberty ever made in America. The tra- dition is that here, for the first time, separation from England, the principles of liberty, and a representa- tive government are proclaimed.
The Tory Visitor in this episode, it must be noted, is not a native of the place, for no records exist of any
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townsman in Saugus during this period who was loyal to the Andros rule of tyranny. As the people go off, greatly stirred by Major Appleton's words, the chil- dren fall to playing another time-honored game, "Lon- don Bridge is Falling Down."
EPISODE IV
THE CROWNING OF KING POMPEY.
"Pompey," says Hon. Nathan Mortimer Hawkes, "is said to have been a king in Africa." He has been freed by the will of Daniel Mansfield and has a home in the forest on the side of the Saugus River. Accord- ing to custom, the slaves of Saugus have been given their annual holiday to visit King Pompey and crown him again with song and dance, as they crowned him once on the banks of the Gambia. The ceremony fol- lowing is adapted from old African coronation rites, with shouting, dancing and beating upon the ground and the processional. Each youth is said to have gath- ered leaves and flowers while on his way to the cere- monial, and these form the crown to place on Pom- pey's head, and as the day wore to its close, and the colonists began to pass on their homeward way, the king left his throne and the courtiers their sovereign. All depart in plaintive silence, and, saving their king, go back to slavery once more.
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HISTORY OF SAUGUS, MASSACHUSETTS.
EPISODE V
THE LEXINGTON ALARM.
Captain Parker's is the first company to march from Lynn, of which, in 1775, Saugus is still a part. The time is very early in the morning of April 19. The rumor has spread, no one knows how, that riders are hurrying from Medford with news, and Captain Parker, his men and their wives, are waiting to see what may come. The Rev. Joseph Roby, called The Fighting Parson because he had served on the commit- tee for defense, is also out to watch and wait. The group of colonists, to keep up their spirits and to while away the anxious waiting time, start to sing the old Massa- chusetts Song of Liberty, so popular just before the Revolution. It runs,
"Come swallow your bumpers, ye Tories, and roar That the sons of Fair Freedom are hampered once more;
But know that no Cutthroats our spirits can tame, Nor a Host of Oppressors can smother the flame.
In Freedom we're born and like Sons of the Brave, We'll never surrender But swear to defend her, And scorn to survive if unable to save."
They have scarcely finished their song when a sound of flying hoofs is heard and three horsemen come gal- loping down the field, shouting, "Arm! Arm and up! The regulars are coming!" They rein in their horses
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and give directions to General Parker to join Colonel Barrett at Menotomy, and then dash off to the next village. The men fall into line, the good parson offers a prayer, and the Minute Men march away to join in the battle of Lexington and Concord.
EPISODE VI
THE PARTING OF THE WAYS.
This episode represents the separation of Lynn and Saugus. Lynn, the Mother, enters first, followed by an old man, the Past. She bears the Book of the Fu- ture with her, which she is to give to Saugus, for here- after, her records will be separate. Saugus and her sisters, East Saugus and Cliftondale, come next, and Saugus bears the book of the Past, which she will give to Lynn in token of the traditions they have shared together. A maid, representing the Future, follows Saugus, and last of all come two little girls, Love and Loyalty. The books are given and the two towns promise fellowship, each with each, and the Past takes the two children, Love and Loyalty, and says that they shall no longer be Children of the Past, but henceforth Children of the Future. The farewells are said; then the Future leads Saugus off in one direction, while Lynn, followed by the aged Past, goes off in the other. Another maid, representing the Future, however, comes to meet her, points the road, and leads her off.
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EPISODE VII
AN EXHIBITION BY THE SAUGUS FEMALE SEMINARY.
In the year 1822, Saugus has a flourishing school for girls known as the Saugus Female Seminary. It is under the direction of the Rev. Joseph Emerson, pas- tor of the Universalist Church, and its most distin- guished pupil is Sarah Willis, known more widely as Fanny Fern, the author. The young ladies sing under the direction of their preceptress some of the songs of the period, "Oh, Who Will O'er the Downs with Me," by Robert De Pearsall, an old round, "Sir Pray be so Good !" by Henry Purcell, and "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes," by Ben Jonson. The preceptress gives the young ladies a recess and retires, whereat they all fall to dancing some old English dances that one of their number has learned abroad. So absorbed do they become, they do not notice the return of the preceptress and they are promptly sent home in disgrace.
EPISODE VIII
THE RETURN OF COMPANY A.
When Company A returns from Virginia at the close of the Civil War, all the Town turns out to welcome it home with the ringing of bells, the volley of fire- crackers, and the discharge of guns, and the Towns- people, men, women and children join joyously in
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"When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again." They reach the centre of the stage and the young people dance the Lancers in the square. They have just fin- ished when the sound of drum and fife are heard, and Civil War Veterans come marching round the bend in the road. Instead of being young and strong as they were when they departed, they are haggard, sick, limping, here an arm lost, there a man with a crutch, and two or three still bandaged from their wounds. But for all that their exhaustion is apparent, they hold up their heads gallantly and march in regular forma- tion onto the field. They halt, and in response to their captain's commands, break ranks. All is a hub- bub of greeting, wives meeting husbands, friends and neighbors shaking hands, fathers seeing their children after a lapse of years. Then they begin to go irregu- larly off the field in groups, and after nearly all have gone, the boys get possession of their fathers' guns, form themselves into a mock company, and they go marching off last of all, whistling, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again."
EPISODE IX
THE COMING OF THE RACES.
Not only the descendants of the Puritans make up the inhabitants of Saugus, but the children of other lands are coming across the water, and bringing with
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them their own customs and thoughts to enrich ours. We see the Norwegian, still with characteristic dress and dance, and the Hungarian, with the wild abandon of theirs. The Italians dance the Tarentelle to the music of the tambourine, the Dutch maids, in their wooden shoes, click out the windmill dance, and mimic the slow movement of the sails, and Irish girls dance the Lilt with as much spirit here as in their own island. The English newcomers bring us English ways which we may forget if they do not call them to our mind, and their folk dance is truly ours.
But be they Hungarian, Italian, Dutch, Irish, or English, in their ancestry and their traditions, they are all Americans now, and America is all theirs.
EPISODE X
THE COMMUNITY SPIRIT SUMMONS THE MAKERS OF SAUGUS.
The historic episodes are over and the story of the Town is brought down to the present day. Before the pageant ends, and the actors scatter, the Community Spirit, who, in fantasy, has dwelt within the bounds of Saugus from the beginning, would fain reward the valiant, the true, the loyal, the gifted and the devout. And so the bugler calls them, one by one, and so the Spirit honors them. Makers of Saugus, all. They come in stately processional, Montowampate, Sachem
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of Saugus, and his friends and followers, Thomas Dex- ter, and his captive pirates, Major Appleton and the Colonists, King Pompey and the slaves, Captain Parker, Parson Roby, and the Minute Men, their wives, and their children, and the stately dancers of the min- uet, Lynn, the mother and her daughters and their train of virtues, the preceptress of Saugus Female Seminary and her young ladies, the captain of Com- pany A, those who danced the Lancers, the regiment and the townsfolk, the dancers of many races, Hun- garian, Dutch, Irish, Italian, English, and, last of all, a symbolic figure walking on either side of him, comes the Saugus of the Future, riding horseback and carry- ing a banner. The roster is complete, save that the Spirit of America, The Goddess of Liberty, crowns the episode, and actors and audience join in singing, "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," and the pageant ends.
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SAUGUS PUBLIC LIBRARY
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Date Due
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APR 1
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