USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > South Boston > History of South Boston : formerly Dorchester Neck, now ward XII of the city of Boston > Part 10
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
Lawrence School.
The old School-House having become far too small to accommodate the pupils desirous of attending, appropriations were made for a new school edi- fice, and on the 11th of September, 1856, the Law- rence School was removed to the magnificent build- ing at the corner of Third and B streets. This edi- fice, 60 feet by 90 feet on the ground, is built of brick and covered with mastic; its walls are double, with a space between the bricks to secure dryness and facilitate ventilation. It is nearly a fire-proof building, all the partitions being of brick and the space between the floors being filled with hard cement. Its interior is finished with chestnut wood and varnished. It is four stories high, and contains fourteen school-rooms, a large hall capable of seat- ing five hundred persons, a small room for the Li- brary of the Lawrence Association, and another for the master, which is papered and carpeted and fur- nished with a library of reference and a cabinet of curiosities and minerals. The building is heated throughout by steam, has entirely separate yards for the boys and girls, and in the basement a large shel- tered play-ground for the children, forming altoge- ther one of the finest school-houses in Boston. (An .engraved view of it is given on another page.)
The cost of the building and the land on which it stands was between $60,000 and $ 70,000. Itisapleas- ing coincidence that it bears the name of one of the warmest friends and patrons of the youth of South Boston, and also has a deep historical interest, inas- much as it is situated on the precise spot where stood the fortification on Nook's Hill, the ercc- tion of which, as has been fully stated in a preceding
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BIGELOW SCHOOL-HOUSE-ERECTED IN 1849. (Page 147.)
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LAWRENCE SCHOOL HOUSE-ERECTED IN 1856. (Page 145.)
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SCHOOLS.
chapter of this work, caused the British to evacuate Boston. On Tuesday, March 17th, 1857, the 81st anniversary of the evacuation, this beautiful building was dedicated to the cause of learning by appropri- ate services. The exercises consisted of prayer, reading the scriptures, presentation of the keys, addresses, and the singing by the pupils of original songs, two of which were composed by the master and one by Mr. C. J. F. Allen, Jr., a former pupil. The Hall was decorated with flowers, and the black boards were covered with beautiful drawings execut- ed by the pupils. The doors of the several rooms being thrown open, exhibited to visitors the happy countenances of the children who occupied them. Rev. CHARLES S. PORTER presided, and the occasion was honored by the presence of ALEXANDER H. RICE, Mayor of the City, the venerable Hon. JOSIAH QUIN- CY, RICHARD FROTHINGHAM, JR., Esq., SAMUEL GREELE, Esq., Ex-Governor BOUTWELL, Rev. THOMAS B. Fox. Rev. R. W. CLARK, Mr. PHILBRICK, Superintendent of the Boston Schools, and other gentlemen. The services were of a deeply interesting character, and were concluded by singing the original hymn, one stanza of which we insert.
Proudly inscribed with the name we would honor, Here, let the off ring be worthy of him ! Watchful each vestal with white robes upon her, See, that its glory may never grow dim ! Patron of virtue he- Helper of poverty- . Lover of science, and friendly to all .- Gratefully pledge the. vow- Write it in heaven now- Worthy of LAWRENCE we'll render the hall ! 13*
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
The school is organized with boys and girls in every class, and in this respect it differs from every other public school in Boston. It has a master, a sub-master, 12 female assistants, a teacher of plain sewing, a teacher of music, and a janitor to tend fires and take care of the building. The number of pupils belonging to the school, on the day of the dedication, was 797. The daily attendance of the pupils averages not far from 90 per cent.
Josiah A. Stearns, A. M., is the Principal.
Primary Schools.
The first Primary School was established in Bos- ton in 1818. The precise year when a Primary School was opened in South Boston, is not known. It is supposed, however, that during the year 1819 or 1820 such a school was established. The first teach- er was Mrs. Catharine Thayer. We have before us the report of this school in 1821, and we copy it from the original document as preserved by the Pri- mary School Board :-
" On Friday afternoon, 28th of September, in obe- dience to the direction of the Standing Committee of the Board of Primary Schools, I visited the school at South Boston, kept by Mrs. Thayer. I was at- tended by William Dall, Esq.
1st,
were present, 4th class, 8 boys, 3 girls, total 11.
1 1 1 - 1 and absent, 6
0 0 . 15. 9. : : 0 15. 50 : 1 boy, 3 girls, total 4.
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2d 3
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3d 6
6 9 6 - - 26 24 9
" Of seven years old there were none in the fourth or third classes; in the second, 2 boys and 1 girl; and in the first, 2 boys and no girls; in all, 5.
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" 2d. No boy or girl in this school is qualified, or can be for six months, for the Grammar School; but 7 have gone in the last six months.
" 3d. Watts's Shorter Catechism is used alone.
" 4th. The mistress teaches with proper accent.
" 5th. The school hours are conformed to, but in the past summer the mistress has begun an hour earlier, to accommodate the children who come in company with elder ones attending another school in the forenoon.
" 6th. School is every day opened with prayer.
" 7th. The principal punishment is by detention, which the instructor thinks has a good effect; whip- ping is sometimes necessary.
" 8th. The new system has not been put in ope- ration.
" 9th. The school was visited by Mr. Dall about four weeks since.
" 10. The general state of the school is as bad as any I have seen in town. More than two-thirds of the children in the fourth class are destitute of books, and a quarter at least of those in the third class. Eight of the children in the fourth class are in their alphabet; but the three others, all boys, may be advanced in three months to the third class. The third class appear tolerably well, and, if not too soon advanced, may make good scholars. The sec- ond class is the poorest I have ever seen; one half of them would be poor scholars for the third, and one boy was so struck with a sense of his inferiority às to desire to be reduced one degree, in which he was gratified. They were deficient in every parti- cular; knew little of spelling, less of stops, nothing of the vulgarisms or abbreviations, or words of simi- lar sound but different spelling. Of the first class
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
I am obliged to speak almost as ill as of the second ; yet they read tolerably well, and five of the fifteen could spell words of three syllables. Every one ought to be in the second class, yet all, except one, have been in the first from last February, when the new system was introduced, but not followed. This school needs the attention of the Committee; and the mistress, who appears to be an excellent woman, and able to govern and teach, might soon raise its character if they would visit and examine it once a week. But the materials are so poor, that, unless a firm support is given to the teacher by the Commit- tee, to enable her to resist the whims of the parents, who wish their children to be put up before they can advance by their own strength, the school must be almost useless.
JAS. SAVAGE."
We have also a list of the names of the scholars, with the number of hymns and verses of the Bible . which they had committed. This first school was kept in a room in the house occupied by the instruc- tor, and situated near the corner of Dorchester and Third streets.
In 1824 another Primary School was established, having Miss Cole for teacher. This was kept on Fourth street, between B and C streets.
For many years each school had a separate Com- mittee man. On January 8th, 1855, a new organi- zation was made, the Grammar School Board en- larged, and all the schools placed under their charge.
There are in South Boston four convenient brick buildings owned by the city and occupied by fifteen Primary Schools. The remainder are in the Grammar School-Houses or private rooms.
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SCHOOLS.
The Mount Washington Female Institute
Was founded May, 1835, by Mrs. Burrill, with the view of providing a place where young ladies might obtain a liberal education at a moderate rate. The number of pupils who attended the first term was 49. Since that time many misses have been connect- ed with the institution. It is still under the charge of Mrs. Burrill, aided by several female assistants.
The course of education pursued by the young ladies of the Institute is extensive, comprehending all those attainments which may be found necessary, useful or ornamental in society. Every effort is made to store the minds of the pupils with know- ledge, and to inculcate in their hearts the principles of virtue and morality.
The seminary and boarding-house are situated on Mount Washington, near the Institution for the Blind. The site is one of the most healthy and beautiful in New England, and commands a view of the city, harbor, and many of the surrounding towns. (A view of it is presented above.)
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
CHAPTER XIV.
CHURCHES.
IN the early history of South Boston, the inhabi- tants were obliged to attend church in Dorchester, as there were not residents enough in Mattapannock to support a minister. The people were in the habit of going to Dorchester meeting-house on Sun- day morning, and remaining all day. Soon after Dorchester Neck was annexed to Boston proper, several of the inhabitants, members of Rev. Dr. Harris's Society in Dorchester, desired to have a nearer place of worship. Mr. John Hawes, a bene- volent and public-spirited citizen, appropriated a piece of ground as early as June, 1807, on which a house for public worship was to be erected. This land he caused to be conveyed to the inhabitants of South Boston.
In the year 1810, he joined with his neighbors in erecting a building, for a temporary place of wor- ship, and Rev. Thomas Pierce, of Milton, a clergyman of the Methodist denomination, who had occasionally ministered to them in their private dwellings, was employed as their minister. He preached to them for about two years, and then returned to the Meth- odist connexion. About this time, the town of Bos- ton granted a sum of money for the support of .a public school in South Boston, and Mr. Zephaniah Wood, of Lunenberg, as has already been mentioned, was appointed master of the school. Mr. Wood was an excellent man, of the Orthodox persuasion, and being much given to study, he engaged to pursue such studies as might render him acceptable and
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useful to the little church which had been gathered, while at the same time he gratuitously performed the services of a pastor.
In the year 1818, the Society, having considerably increased, obtained of the Legislature an act of in- corporation, with the title of THE HAWES PLACE CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETY. They also enlarged their temporary place of worship. The first meeting was in a wooden one-story building, about forty feet long, and twenty wide, situated eastward of the Heights, near the site of the present Church, but fac- ing on the Old Road. On cither side of the door were singers' seats, raised somewhat above the other pews. Opposite the door was a low wooden pulpit. The ceiling was plastered, but the sides were left bare, the spaces between the beams being filled with rough bricks.
The enlargement mentioned above was an addition of some twenty feet to the length of the meeting- house, making it sixty feet long, and giving it so much the appearance of a rope-walk, that it was call- ed by that name.
The act of incorporation was passed in February, and approved by the Governor, John Brooks, on the 19th of that month. On the 13th day of May, 1819, those members of the Society, who were communi- cants, met to deliberate upon the expediency of forming a regular Church ; and " Voted unanimously, that the Secretary of this meeting (Mr. Wood) be requested to take such measures as shall be deemed · requisite to effect such object."
At an adjourned meeting of these communicants, Oct. 11th, 1819, it was " Voted unanimously, that letters missive be addressed to the Rev. Mr. Harris of Dorchester, the Rev. Mr. Porter of Roxbury, and
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
the Rev. Mr. Norton of Weymouth, requesting them to attend on the 27th instant, at 10 o'clock, A. M., with one delegate each, as a council to assist in or- ganizing said members into a Church." Accordingly, an Ecclesiastical Council assembled, Oct. 27th, 1819, and accomplished the object for which they had been convened. The Rev. Dr. Porter was chosen Mode- rator. He performed the devotional exercises, and administered baptism to several new members, then admitted, who had not been baptized. The Rev. Dr. Harris was chosen Scribe, and preached a discourse ; and the Rev. Mr. Norton gave the right hand of fellowship to the Church, through their minister, Mr. Wood, who had been deputed to receive it.
This Church at first consisted of fourteen members, six male and eight female. They held their first meeting Nov. 15, 1819, at the house of Mr. John Hawes, and unanimously chose Mr. Wood to be Clerk, and Isaac Thom and Thomas Hammond to be Deacons.
With a view to render himself more useful to this Church and Society, Mr. Wood received ordination as an Evangelist, by a Council convened at Wey- mouth, Nov. 13, 1821, though he never held any pas- toral relation to them.
Mr. Wood was not, however, permitted to con- tinue long in his office. In August, 1822, he was seized with a violent fever, and after enduring much suffering, died on the 26th of October, at the age of 31 years. His death was much lamented by the Church and Society, and by all who had ever enjoyed his acquaintance. As a man he was universally res- pected, and as a Christian his character was unble- mished. He left a wife and several young children to mourn his loss.
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During the sickness of the Rev. Mr. Wood, the Rev. Lemuel Capen, of Dorchester, who not long before had dissolved his ministerial connexion with the church and society in Sterling, was requested to preach to this society. Soon after the decease of Mr. Wood, Mr. Capen was appointed to succeed him as master of the public school, and continued, by their request, to " minister to them in the word." At a legal meeting of the society, January 28, 1823, they invited him to become their permanent minister, to which invitation he gave an affirmative answer. On account of his connexion with the school, how- ever, further measures for his installation were de- ferred. In consequence of this step of the society, at a legal meeting of the Church, March 23, 1823, he was chosen to be the clerk of the Church. He con- tinued thus to preach and administer the ordinances of the gospel to them till the autumn of 1827. At a legal meeting of the society, October 8th of that year, they unanimously renewed their invitation to him to become their permanent minister; and he again signified his acceptance.
An Ecclesiastical Council was accordingly convened for his installation, October 31, 1827; on which occasion, the following churches were represented :- the Rev. Dr. Porter's and Dr. Gray's in Roxbury ; Rev. Dr. Harris's and Dr. Richmond's in Dorchester ; the Rev. Mr. Whit- ney's in Quincy, and the Rev. Mr. Pierpont's in Boston.
In January, 1829, John Hawes, who was one of ' the founders of the Church, and who had ever been its friend, died, leaving a considerable amount of property to the Church, and also to the inhabitants of South Boston. (See Appendix G.)
The donation of Mr. Hawes enabled the Hawes 14
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
Place Society to erect-a new-house of worship, on the site presented by that gentleman in 1807. This building is a neat wooden edifice, 60 by 46 feet, and capable of seating between four and five hundred persons. It is surmounted by a steeple, in which a bell is suspended. This building was dedicated Jan- uary 1, 1833, and bears on a tablet in front the fol- fowing inscription :-
THIS HOUSE ERECTED BY THE HAWES PLACE SOCIETY, For the Worship of God, A. D. 1832, by a munificent donation from MR. JOHN HAWES, who died Jan. 22, 1829, aged 88 years.
In 1839, Rev. Lemuel Capen resigned his office as pastor of the church, and Rev. Charles C. Shackford was ordained as his successor, May 19, 1841, and left May, 1843. Rev. George W. Lippitt was or- dained May 9, 1844, and remained until January 1, 1851. Rev. Thomas Dawes was his successor, May 21, 1854.
In 1855 the church was entirely re-modelled, circu- lar pews introduced, a new pulpit built, and other improvements made. The fund left by Mr. Hawes is sufficient to defray all expenses.
St. Matthew's Church.
The first incorporated religious society in South Boston was the present Episcopal Church. On the 24th of March, 1816, St. Matthew's Church was or- ganized, and on the following Sunday, March 31st,
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the first public services were performed in the " school-house," by Mr. Cotting, a lay reader. This gentleman continued to act in that capacity till the 21st of June, 1818, receiving occasional assistance from some of the clergymen of the city. The con- gregations at this period are reported to have va- ried from ten to seventy persons.
In 1817 the society commenced the erection of the first house of worship built in South Boston, and on the 24th of June, 1818, St. Matthew's Church was consecrated with appropriate services by the Right Rev. Alexander V. Griswold, D. D., Bishop of the Eastern Diocese. The expenses of its erection were chiefly defrayed by benevolent members of Trinity and Christ churches, with a view to the fu- ture wants of South Boston. The land on which it stands was bought of Mr. Abraham Gould, who was for many years one of the wardens of the Church. A service of plate for the use of the altar was pre- sented by the ladies of Christ Church, and the pul- pit, desk and chancel were furnished by the ladies of Trinity Church. Mrs. Elizabeth Bowdoin Win- throp was a most liberal benefactor.
On the 5th of July, 1817, an arrangement was made with Mr. Addison Searle, a candidate for holy orders, to act as lay reader, and this gentleman, with some aid from the clergymen of the city, sus- tained public worship until March 30th, 1819. Mr. Searle was soon after ordained, and received an ap pointment as Chaplain in the Navy. His death on ' board the frigate Cumberland, on the Mediterranean station, has lately been announced.
On Mr. Searle's resignation, Mr. R. G. Parker was engaged to officiate as lay reader, but continued his services only till the 19th of September. The
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
names of Mr. Theodore Edson, Isaac Boyle, and I. H. Price, all of them candidates for the ministry, and afterwards ordained, occur in the records, as conducting the public worship from Mr. Parker's re- signation till 19th of March, 1820, at which time Mr. Edson appears to have made a permanent arrange- ment with the Wardens and Vestry, and to have continued his services till about March, 1824. He was succeeded, after a short interval, by the Rev. J. L. Blake, who was the first ordained clergyman set- tled over the Parish. He remained Rector of St. Matthew's till the 24th of June, 1832. During the latter part of the year 1831, the Church was closed, in order to enlarge the building to its present size.
On Mr. Blake's resignation, the Church was sup- plied for about three months by the Rev. M. A. De W. Howe, who was at that time Master of the Hawes School. He ceased to officiate on the 14th of October, 1832, and the Church was closed from that date till the 2d of February, 1834, when it was opened for public worship by the Rev. E. M. P. Wells, who continued his services till April, 1835. To him succeeded the Rev. H. L. Conolly, who was Rector of St. Matthew's from April, 1835, to April,
1838. On his resignation, the services of the Rev. W. Bull and others were secured until the 10th of June, 1838, when the Rev. Joseph H. Clinch engaged to supply the Church for three months, at the expi- ration of which time he was chosen Rector, and was instituted as such on the 23d of September, 1838, by Bishop Griswold. This gentleman still continues his pastoral relation.
The society at the present time numbers about one hundred families, and there are about one hun- dred communicants connected with the Church. The
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church edifice is a neat brick building, situated on Broadway, between D and E streets, and is 35 feet front by 80 feet deep. Under the church are quite a number of vaults used as tombs, owned by various individuals, and under the supervision of the City Authorities. In the belfry still remains the bell which was formerly suspended in the cupola of Fan- euil Hall, and which was granted to the Church by the town authorities on condition that it be rung for fire alarms, &c.
St. Augustine's Church.
In the year 1819, the members of the Franklin street Roman Catholic Church thought it advisable to erect a place for Roman Catholic services in South Boston, and accordingly built the church situ- ated on Dorchester street, and known as the " Old Catholic Church." The distinguished Right Rev- erend Bishop Cheverus had the ministerial charge of the Franklin street Church, and by his activity and assistance St. Augustine's Church was erected.
It was doubtless the intention of the Rev. Mr. Thayer to have located a convent of Ursuline Nuns near this Church, as he made provision in his will for the establishment of such an institution, and ex- pressed his opinion that that would be the most eligible situation. In 1820, four nuns, by invitation of Bishop Cheverus, arrived in Boston, and devoted themselves to the instruction of female children till 1826, when the Ursuline Community was established at Charlestown. The fate of that institution is well known, and the blackened ruins of the convent still remain to point out a chapter in the history of the Catholic institutions of America. It was probably but a slight circumstance that prevented South Bos- 14*
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ton from being the scene of occurrences similar to those which took place some years since in Charles- town.
The church is a small brick building, and was con- secrated by Bishop Fenwick in 1833, at which time Rev. Thomas Lynch was appointed pastor. He re- tained his office till 1836, when Rev. John Mahoney was made Priest of the Church, and continued in this office till 1839. Rev. M. Lynch was then appointed to take the pastoral charge, but continued in office only a year, and was succeeded by Rev. Terrence Fitzsimmons. In 1844, a new Catholic Church was formed in South Boston, and St. Augustine's Church became a part of that.
The old church is now seldom used, and is rapidly going to decay. Adjoining it is a large cemetery used exclusively for the burial of Roman Catholics. This grave-yard has been used for many years, and a large number of bodies are interred in it.
The Church has a most picturesque situation, on Dorchester street, near Sixth street. It is surrounded by beautiful elm-trees, which, when clad in the foliage of summer, completely hide the Church from view. As the wind sighs among the trees, and chants a sol- emn requiem to the dead who repose below, the soli- tude of the place and the almost unbroken stillness which pervades the yard make the place one of pe- culiar interest, and we have heard it said that there is not a more beautiful spot in Massachusetts. It has often been noticed that there is a remarkable regularity in the position of the trees which surround the Church.' There is a tradition handed down in a family that has long resided in South Boston, that, many years since, an English nobleman selected that spot as a site upon which to erect a mansion. He
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accordingly planted elm trees on three sides of the lot, leaving an almost unbounded prospect towards the west. He died, however, before he commenced his proposed dwelling.
CHAPTER XV.
CHURCHES-CONTINUED.
Phillips Church.
As was stated in the History of the Hawes Place Church, the first two clergymen who preached in South Boston entertained religious views differing from those now entertained by the members of the parent church. All denominations were then united, and all worshipped together in peace and unity. Rev. Thomas Pierce was a Methodist at the time he preached in South Boston, and Rev. Zepha- niah Wood was a Trinitarian, till some dispute which arose upon the doctrines of their creeds caused him to dissent, and he then became somewhat Arminian in his sentiments.
At Mr. Wood's death, a majority of the society chose to have a minister of Unitarian views, and the minority felt obliged to leave that place of worship. The separation was effected peaceably, and with mu- tual kind feelings. Some continued to go to their old place of worship, some attended occasionally the · Episcopal service-although that Church had then no settled minister-and others went to Orthodox pla- ces of worship in the city.
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