USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Scituate > History of Scituate, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1831 > Part 14
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Capt. Williams Barker with thirty-eight men, received the pay thus pledged by the Town.
October 14, 1776,
"A Committee was raised to draft a vote on the question whether the Town will comply with the order of Gen. Court, for forming a Constitution for this State, viz. Elisha Tolman, Nathaniel Waterman, Increase Clap, Elisha James, and Dea. Joseph Bailey."
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Report. " Agreeable to a Resolve of Gen. Court, the Town has taken the subject into consideration, and has voted to give their consent that the present House of Representatives, together with the Council (if they consent) in one body, and by equal voice, should prepare and agree on such a Constitution and form of Government for this State, as the House and Council aforesaid, on the fullest and most mature deliberation, shall judge most conducive to the safety, peace and happiness of this State, then to be submitted to the people at large for their ratification or otherwise." (Voted).
March 17, 1777, "The Town voted to choose a Committee of eleven, as a committee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety, viz. John Bowker, Eleazer Litchfield, Ignatius Vinal, Joshua Clap, Israel Sylvester, Issachar Vinal, Josiah Litchfield, jr., Caleb Bailey, Elisha Foster and Enoch Collamore."
June 3, 1777, "The Town chose Capt. Israel Vinal to prosecute and lay before the Court, the evidence of the hostile disposition toward this or any of the United States, of any of the inhabitants of the Town of Scituate, who stand charged with being persons whose residence in the State is dangerous to publick peace and safety."
A list was exhibited by the selectmen as follows : "Elijah Curtis, Benj. James, Job Otis, James Curtis, David Little, jr., Benj. Jacob, Ebenezer Stetson, Benj. James, jr., Elisha Turner, David Otis, Prince Otis, Joseph Turner, Frederick Henderson, Jonathan Fish, William Hoskins, John Stetson, William Cole, Benj. Stockbridge, Charles Stockbridge, Samuel Stetson, Elisha Jacob, Joseph Jacob, Joseph Hayden, Jonathan Fish, jr."
" Voted that any of these persons might have liberty to be heard in this present Town meeting or at any other day, that their names may be erased on giving satisfaction, &c."
June 19, 1777, " At an adjourned meeting, sixteen of the persons charged as dangerous, &c. gave satisfaction to the Town, and their names were struck out of the list. Those remaining for trial agreeable to the law of the State are Elijah Curtis, Job Otis, James Curtis, Benj. Jacob, Elisha Turner, John Stetson, Joseph Jacob, and Joseph Hayden."
Such measures seem harsh to us who have never borne a part in such a crisis. But we are to consider that the utmost power of the Colonies was called for ; and to harbour citizens within, who might turn their arms against their countrymen in their struggles, would have been a piece of criminal courtesy. Hence the necessity of committees of Safety and Inspection. It was also an important object to bring forward some who
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were timid, and others who looked upon the attempt to achieve independence as utterly desperate. It is well known that many of our wisest citizens and firmest patriots, belonged at first to the latter class. The ardor of many people of far less discern- ment, wrought up to frenzy, by the very backwardness and hesitancy of wiser men, in this case triumphed, and compelled all to pledge life and honor to the cause, or to abandon their homes. In looking over the above list of gentlemen, reported to the selectmen "as persons whose residence in the State was dangerous ;" we can conceive the reasons, in most cases, why suspicions should fall upon them, even though they might be amongst the most ardent friends of independence. The spotless William Cushing did not escape suspicion, though he is not in the above list. And why? because he was a Judge of the King's Superior Court. But he soon gave his townsmen satis- faction, by drafting the instructions to the Representative of the Town, "to endeavor that Congress should be informed that we are ready with our lives and fortunes, to support independence, in case they should declare it." The worthy and intelligent Dr. Benjamin Stockbridge and his son Dr. Charles, were suspected. They were of the Church of England, as were several others in the list. Elisha Turner had been a Captain in the French war, had been somewhat distinguished for his loyalty. In short, we believe posterity now does the justice to nearly all the persons at that time suspected, to allow that they were firm friends of their country, and well wishers to inde- pendence, but coolly and discreetly calculated that it was a hopeless object-and an object it was most certainly, which all now look on with unqualified wonder that it should have been achieved. There was indeed but one in the whole list, who either through despair of the cause or other more interested motives, had any known design of flying to the British; and that was Charles Curtis. As to Frederick Henderson, named in the list, we will remark that he was a Captain in the British Navy, had been wounded, and shipwrecked several years before at Nantasket : he found his way to Scituate, where he married and settled for life, and received half pay as a retired officer. He satisfied the citizens that he should take no part in the contest on either hand, and was suffered to remain. He lived several years after the Revolution, and deceased in this place. His widow (whose maiden name had been Jael Rogers) was afterward the wife of Capt. William Church, and survived until 1822. Charles Curtis was a young gentleman of liberal edu- cation and fair prospects, and may have gone over to the British
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with ambitious views. We believe however that he was never rewarded for his mistaken loyalty .* He died in New York, where his family have since deceased. His wife was Lydia James, daughter of Deacon John James. With this single exception, the vigilant suspicions and the strong measures of the citizens, supported by law, compelled every man who had doubted, to disguise at least his doubts, and every man who had opposed by reasoning, the practicability of a successful Rev- olution, at least to be silent. We perhaps ought to add to our slight notice of the suspicions against the highly respectable Dr. Stockbridges above, that those suspicions did not rest merely on the circumstance that they were of the Church of England, though it is well remembered that this was considered enough at that anxious crisis to induce a visitation from the Committee of Safety. An unfortunate occurrence brought the elder Dr. into difficulty. He was at that time engaged in the practice of medicine in a wider circle than any physician in the State, at that time, or perhaps since. He had been called to Ipswich, and on his return he was unfortunately detained many days by General Gage in Boston. This was known to the authorities of the Town : and as soon as he returned to his home, they conducted him to Plymouth with the design of securing him in prison; but they were soon softened by the intercession of the people of Plymouth, and dismissed him. In the mean time his son Dr. Charles with several others, was conducted under guard to head quarters at Cambridge; but he was soon released. It was a suspicious circumstance that he had been found, with a few others, walking on the beach, between the third and fourth cliffs, apparently waiting for some communication froin Boston by water.
In the summer of 1776, a regiment was encamped near the north Meeting-house, and many of them were lodged in that house. The English had landed at Hingham, and done some little injury about that time, which led to this precaution. The regiment was kept on duty until winter ; and was removed to the harbour in October. Col. William Turner had the com- mand.
We subjoin an imperfect list of officers and soldiers who served in the Revolutionary War.
Col. John Jacob. Major Nathaniel Winslow. Col. John Clap. Major William Turner.
* He was made a forage master about New York.
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Capt. Jonathan Turner.
Capt. Peter Sears, corps of Mechanicks. Capt. Williams Barker, at R. I.
Capt. Joshua Jacob. Capt. Amos Turner. Dr. Lemuel Cushing, surgeon, third regiment.
Soldiers who have drawn the pension under the late law.
James Barrell, dead.
Noah Barrell, son of above.
Elisha Gross, dead. Stephen Totman, dead.
William Hyland, drew pension at first, but not at present. James Lincoln.
Matthew Tower, dead.
Lieut. Edward Daman, (Me- chanicks), dead.
David Jordan, dead.
Simeon Grandison, colour, at taking of Burgoyne.
Thomas Church, dead. Hill. John Manson.
Gideon Young.
Edward Humphries, dead. Oliver Winslow.
Amasa Hyland, now of Win- chendon.
Most of the above served during the war, as also several oth- ers who deceased long since. William Perry. Dwelley Clap.
Ephraim Palmer.
Consider Turner.
Benjamin Turner.
John Tower, killed at Charles- ton). Lynde Tower, died in Vt.
Stephen Vinal.
Robert Cook, died 1831.
Elisha Turner.
Dea. Elisha James, (Mechan- icks), living.
Besides these we might collect a long list who served in short campaigns or in the State service :- a few of whom are living, e. g. :
Jesse Dunbar, Esq.
John Whitcomb.
Elisha Briggs.
Daniel Merritt.
Lazarus Bowker.
The soldiers of the Revolution are fast dropping away. It will be seen in our list that seven only now draw pensions.
Tuesday, May 23, 1780, " The Town had under considera- tion the Constitution prepared by the Convention at Cambridge in 1779, and accepted every article, save the eleventh article respecting the House of Representatives, and the first article, respecting the Judiciary."
There is nothing of any interest that we can here relate, that has any connexion with this Town, during the brief troubles with Great Britain in 1794. It was altogether a maritime
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obstruction. Minute men were required to be raised throughout the Towns, but were never called into service. We observe in the Town records of that year: "Chose a Committee to raise minute men, according to requisition of Government, viz. Eli Curtis, Chandler Clap, Israel Vinal, Daniel Litchfield, James Clap, Calvin Daman, George Torrey, John Tolman, Joseph Jacob, Enoch Collamore." 'The apprehensions of a war were happily removed by Mr Jay's Treaty in November of that year.
WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 1812.
The war which was declared against England June 18, 1812, and which was terminated by the treaty of Ghent, December 1814, had its theatre remote from New England principally, and was scarcely felt by the people of this Town, save by the privations which were sustained in the interruption of business, and in the scarcity of foreign articles of produce. The inter- course between the States was so far interrupted in 1813 and 1814, that flour bore the price of $18 per barrel, and corn $2 per bushel, and even 2,50cts. The war was conducted chiefly by soldiers voluntarily enlisted. No citizen of this Town bore any conspicuous part either as officer or soldier. The army raised on that occasion is well known to have been of a very different character from those in former wars of which we have been speaking, when life, honor, liberty being at stake, called forth "the lords of human kind." We mean this only as a general remark, while we acknowledge that the army was furnished with many distinguished officers.
We do not recollect that Scituate sustained the loss of a man. We will however record, that Theophilus Witherell (a lineal descendant of Samuel, the brother of the brave Serj. Theophilus, who was "crippled for life " in the "great Narra- gansett fight," 1675,) was wounded and crippled like his ancestor, in a northern expedition.
The militia of Scituate were called out on one occasion, viz. July 7, 1814. The British 74, called the Bulwark, had lain near Scituate harbour several weeks, and had sent a demand on shore for fresh beef and vegetables, which the citizens of course did not furnish. Early in the morning of June 11, 1814, two tenders manned with marines, had come into the harbour and set fire to the shipping, and returned without further vio- lence. By this act, hardly to be denominated honorable
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warfare, ten vessels, fishing and coasting craft, were lost. The Rev. Mr Thomas of the north Society, had the resolution, immediately to go on board the Bulwark, and to request of the commander a candid declaration, what further violence might be proposed, and received an assurance, that nothing further was intended, after having destroyed the vessels, which might bring some revenue to the Government. The regiment of militia, as we have noticed above, under Col. John Barstow, repaired to the neighborhood of the harbour, but soon returned to their homes. A guard was kept for some months, but no rencounter took place.
It is too recent and too well known to be related as history at this time that a majority of the citizens of this Town and of New England did not agree to the necessity of this war; and at its close did not believe that any advantage had been gained, which might not have been gained by negociation without the war: and on the other hand the majority of Congress and of the citizens of the United States, declared the war to be just and necessary. It is equally well remembered, that the citizens of this country were then divided into two great parties in politicks, which denominated each other the French and English party, and accused each other with an undue partiality toward those nations respectively. The lines of these parties began to be distinctly drawn in 1792 and 3. France and England were at war. In their struggle they paid but little regard to the rights of neutral nations. England with her thousand ships of war blockaded many of the ports of France; and France declared England to be blockaded without any naval force: hence the origin of "paper blockades," in the common language of those times : England retaliated in kind, and both powers made prize of American vessels with little regard to neutral rights. In addition to this there was another and more irritating grievance of which the United States complained against England. England alleged that many of her own seamen had fraudulently obtained certificates of protection as American citizens, in the American merchant service, which was true beyond doubt. The common artifice practised in such cases was, to purchase these certificates of American seamen and adopt their names. England feeling herself strong in her right to the services of her own citizens in time of war, proceeded to search American vessels wherever they were met with, and in reclaiming British seamen, the officers were not very accurate in making distinctions, so that it sometimes happened that American seamen were impressed. These subjects of irritation were agitated with
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increasing violence from 1806 to 1812, when the United States proceeded to declare war. A treaty negotiated by Mr Munroe, · then minister to the Court of St. James, which was thought by many to have been as advantageous as that finally obtained at the close of the war, was rejected by President Jefferson, without submitting it to the Senate, probably because he fore- saw that if this treaty should be ratified, war with France would be inevitable. Had the English party, so called, been in power in the United States, this would perhaps have been the result : but the other party being in power, the election was made for war with England.
ABORIGINES.
Scituate, like most of the towns in Plymouth Colony, had been nearly depopulated of the natives by the small pox, a few years before the English made a permanent settlement on this coast. But there were many evidences left, that it had been thickly peopled. They were the Matakeesetts, and con- trolled by the chief or sachem of the Massachusetts. The principal encampment of the remnants of this tribe at the time Scituate was settled, was about the ponds in Pembroke. They visited the sea shore often for fishing and fowling, but not many resided here. Several places in the Town still retain the ancient aboriginal names, viz. Musquashcut pond, at Farm neck, and Assinippi, vulgarly called Snappet, and Conihassett. In- deed the name of the Town is the aboriginal name, derived from the brook that falls into the harbour. That brook was called by the Indians Satuit, which means cold brook, and the name of the Town has the same orthography in our earliest records in 1633-shortly after it was written Seteat-then Cittewat, and not until about 1640, was the present orthography settled. That the population here had been considerable, appears from the facts that the English found planting lands of some extent, which were still cleared of forest trees, viz. the glades and the cliffs, which were then of greater extent than at present, the place called Greenfield, and a part of " belle house neck." On that neck, or rather a small neck connected with it called Schewsan's neck, tradition speaks of an Indian bury- ing ground : and another burying ground is well attested at Groundsell hill, a gravelly mound, a few rods east of the resi- dence of the late Joshua Bryant. They soon left this place after the English came. A few families made a summer resi-
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dence at Wigwam neck, as late as 1700 .* The family of Attaman remained in their wigwam near Spring swamp, a half century later : and somewhat later Simon was living at Simon's® hill, and remembered by some of our aged people. The last of all the Matakeesetts in this Town was Comsitt, a bright and enterprising man, who enlisted into the Revolutionary army and lost his life. His family received some assistance from the Town as late as 1786.+
Though the settlers at Scituate found the region almost without inhabitants, yet they were conscientious enough to extinguish the Indian title by fair purchase of the Chief of the Matakeesetts, as by the following document may appear.
" Plymouth June 1653.
"I Josias Wampatuck do acknowledge and confess that I have sold two tracts of land unto Mr Timothy Hatherly, Mr James Cudworth, Mr Joseph Tilden, Humphry Turner, Will- iam Hatch, John Hoar and James Torrey, for the proper use and behoof of the inhabitants of the Town of Scituate, to be enjoyed by them according to the true intents of the English grants : The one parcel of such land is bounded from the mouth of the North River as that River goeth to the Indian head River, from thence as that River goeth unto the pond at the head of that River, and from the pond at the head of the Indian head River upon a straight line unto the middle of Accord Pond : from Accord Pond, by the line set by the Commissioners as the bounds betwixt the two Jurisdictions, untill it met with the line of the land sold by me unto the sharers of Conihassett, and as that line runs between the Town and the shores, untill it cometh unto the sea :{ and so along by the sea, unto the mouth of the North River aforesaid. The other parcell of land lying on the easterly side of the North River, begins at a lot which was sometime the land of John Ford, and so to run two miles southerly as the River runs, and a mile in breadth towards the east, for which parcell of land, I do acknowledge to have received of the men whose names are before mentioned, fourteen pounds in full satisfaction, in behalf of the inhabitants of the Town of Scituate as aforesaid; and I
* The wigwam of the family of Tantachu was near Robert Whitcomb's farm in Beach woods, in 1700 and earlier.
t The Indian families of Opechus, Tantachu and Attaman remained until 1740.
# At Satuit brook which falls into the harbour.
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do hereby promise and engage to give such further evidence before the Governor as the Town of Scituate shall think meet, when I am thereunto required; in witness wherof, I have hereunto set my hand in presence of
NATHANIEL MORTON, EDMUND HAWES, SAMUEL NASH.
JOSIAS WAMPATUCK,* his go mark."
" At the same time when Josias made acknowledgment as above mentioned, there was a Deed brought into Court which he owned to be the Deed which he gave to them whose names are above specified for the said lands, and that he had not given them another: which deed was burnt in presence of the Court.
NATHANIEL MORTON, Secretary."
The first deed, we believe, was made before 1640: the intent of this latter conveyance was to include the "two mile," which had been purchased since.
We learn from the above document also, that the same sachem had sold his title in the Conihassett proprietary before this time : and probably at the time of the grant made by the Court in 1637. That original deed we have not seen. But after the decease of the sachem Josias Wampatuck, his son Josias claimed some further allowance from the Conihassett partners, and they gratified him with the sum of £14, and received a deed, dated February 3, 1686-7, and acknowledged before the Council of Sir Edmund Andros, Governor General. This deed is in the Conihassett records, signed JOSIAS WAM- PATUCK, son and heir to Josias Wampatuck."
It has been very common for people to lament over the fallen fortunes of the Natives of these shores, and to criminate the forefathers for driving them from their wonted forests, and occupying their lands by force, or purchasing them for an inadequate trifle. As general remarks, we believe these to be the cant of very superficial readers and reasoners, and certainly without the least truth or pertinency so far as respects Plymouth
* Josias was a faithful friend of the English. We find he was a minor in 1641, (see a remonstrance of the town of Braintree against the claim of Richard Thayer to lands purchased of Josias 1641, Hinckley papers). He was son of Chicatabut, chief of the Mass. The residence of Chicatabut was at Neponset river, near Squantum : but he claimed the country to the North river, and the ponds in Pembroke. He died November 1633, (Dr. Harris's History of Dorchester), Josiah Wampatuck was his son, one of whose sons was Jeremy ; and Charles Josiah (son of Jeremy) was the last of the race.
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Colony. The lands were purchased whenever a tribe could be found to allege the slightest claim. The sums paid were small, but they were a sufficient compensation to the few wan- dering natives whom the pestilence had spared, and who could make no use of the lands; nay, they were often above the full value of the lands to the English. These lands were a danger- ous and uncultivated wilderness, and had they been received without compensation, they would have been a perilous and costly possession. Plymouth Colony claimed not a foot of land but by fair purchase, save the little districts of Pocassett, Showamett, Assonet and Mount Hope, and these were dearly won, if ever lands were so won, by conquering an unjust and unrelenting enemy. There is reason to lament that the author- ities of Plymouth yielded to the imaginary necessity of execut- ing the brave Anawon, and especially that they sold into slavery Metacomet's (Philip's) youthful son : but the justice and hu- manity generally shown to the natives, will be more apparent, the more we examine the subject. "Philip's Boy goes now to be sold," (see letter from John Cotton, March 19, 1676-7, Cotton papers).
TOPOGRAPHY.
The Territory of Scituate is of very irregular shape, having on its south and east a winding brook and river, and on its north the indented margin of the bay. The harbour, the river, and the principal brooks, we have sufficiently described under other heads. The four cliffs are on the margin of the bay between the harbour and the mouth of the North river, distant from each other nearly a half mile, showing sandy fronts, from one to two hundred feet in height. Colman's hills, called in early records "the high hills," are an elevated table land between the harbour and river's mouth, from the top of which a very extensive prospect is commanded, embracing the whole bay with the two capes. The glades are a point of land on the extreme north, extending to the entrance of Cohasset harbour. This tract of land is generally rocky, and shoots into beautiful and romantic shapes. There is a portion of excellent arable land, at the north point. Farm Neck is a large tract of excellent arable land near to the glades, and is nearly surrounded by marsh. Belle house neck is in the vicinity of the North river, four miles from its mouth, containing nearly an hundred acres of good arable land. Brushy hill is a round and regular eminence, a half mile south-east of the
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first Society's Meeting-house. Walnut Tree hill, a very early name, so called from the circumstance that the black walnut was indigenous there, is an eminence near the seat of the late Judge William Cushing. Hoop-pole hill is very elevated, being one mile west of the south Meeting-house. Cordwood hill lies three fourths of a mile south-west of the above named house : and one mile farther south is a much higher elevation called Randall hill, or in more modern times Studley hill. One mile west of the latter is Wild Cat hill, an ancient name. On the north-west border of the Town are three lofty elevations, forming a triangle with a deep swamp in the centre, of a mile in extent; they are called Mount Blue (on the south), Mount Hope (on the north-west), and Mount Ararat (on the east). Two miles in a south-west direction from these, is Prospect hill, the highest elevation in the Town; it lies partly in Hingham. One mile and an half from the Town-house in a westerly direction from the territorial centre, is Black Pond hill, and on its west declivity is Black pond, a deep, cold collection of water cover- ing about four acres : it discharges into North river by the second Herring brook. Accord pond, so called, because in early times the commissioners who settled the line between Plymouth and Charles river patents, accorded or agreed that the line should intersect that pond, lies on the extreme south- west of the Town, and lies partly in each of the four towns of Scituate, Hingham, Hanover and Abington. It is a clear and deep collection of water, covering about seventy acres .*
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