USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > South Boston > History of South Boston : formerly Dorchester Neck, now ward XII of the city of Boston > Part 19
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possession about the year 1803. It was probably occu- pied by him before this, but very soon after he built and moved into the brick house on the west, near by, now adjoining the Bigelow School-house and owned by Mr. W. W. Allen. The Foster house was afterwards kept by a Mr. Healy, as a hotel, to which a bowling alley was attached, and this was for several years a fashionable afternoon resort for some of the then "solid men of Boston." One or more of our present no less substantial citizens can remember setting up nine-pins, when boys, in this place. The house itself, though not very old, went to decay, and was taken down about the year 1830. When the first part of this work was written, the cellar was to be seen, with two ancient elms spreading forth the same branches which had afforded a summer shade to several generations of the Foster family. These were on the lot near the easterly corner of E and Fourth streets, now occupied by the elegant residence of Francis Maguire, and the two handsome dwelling-houses of the Messrs. Fisk. The house was about half way between Fourth and Silver streets, and the barn 12 rods north of it, on a spot now near the centre of Broadway, in front of the present Lyceum Hall. This was the barn, it will be recollected, in which Mrs. Foster's hired man, in 1773, concealed the tea clandestinely gathered from the sea- shore after the memorable throwing over-board of that article in Boston harbor. Two or three rods south-east of the house, where the Thacher house now stands, was the unsheltered well, with its wooden curb and windlass, and, doubtless, its " old oaken bucket" attached.
On the plan drawn by the British General at the be- ginning of the Revolutionary war, which has been copied for this work, the Foster house is represented as directly on Nook lane. But several ancient plans of land belonging to this estate, show that the gate lead- ing to the house was on the lane, but the house itself was 24 rods from it. A pathway led from the gate, north-casterly, the above distance, to the house. This
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gate must have been at a spot now on the southerly side of Fifth street, in a south-western direction from the house. No fences are represented around the house on the plans drawn in 1788. The " yard-room," as it may have been called, was therefore ample, and is now occu- pied by more houses than were contained in all Matta- pannock at the time of its annexation to Boston.
The lane alluded to, sometimes called " the way," and sometimes, in the plans, a " Lane Leeding to Nuke," branched off from the Causeway, or Dorchester street, a little south of the present corner of Seventh street. In 1803, it seems to have run at first nearly in a north- erly direction, till within 15 or 20 rods of the gate to the Foster house, when it took a more westerly course, and extended-not however in a very direct line-to the vicinity of Nook hill, or near the present corner of Fourth and B streets-and passing thence south of Fourth street to A street. Nook lane formed the south-western boundary of many acres of land then belonging to Mr. Gould.
Various members of the Foster family have at differ- ent times owned land in other parts of the place, some of which never came into the possession of Mr. Gould. James Foster, in 1694, purchased of the other heirs of Hopestill, their right in a twelve-acre piece of upland on the southerly side of the "highway leading towards Castle Island," for which he paid them "fforty pounds currant money of New England." The deed of convey- ance in this sale is now in a good state of preservation, and is quite a curiosity. It is written lengthwise on a piece of parchment 29 inches long and 11} wide, the lines extending nearly the whole length and perfectly straight and uniform. It is a most beautiful piece of penmanship, and is ornamented with flourishes and the usual display of German-text words. It contains the signatures of Edward Brown, shopkeeper, and Elizabeth his wife (formerly wife of Hopestill Foster, deceased) ; Hopestill Foster, gun maker; Samuel Foster, goldsmith ; Timothy Nash, merchant, and Mary his wife (one of the
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daughters of Hopestill) ; and Elizabeth Foster, spinster. The seals affixed to the names are of red sealing-wax, on each of which is impressed a different design. These are secured by melted wax to separate strips of parch- ment, which are firmly looped in to the bottom of the deed-and each name is written on the deed by the side of its loop and seal. The witnesses' names and the acknowledgments are on the back, where is also written, in the same style as inside, "Ehizir Moody, Scr:". It would seem that there were trees and bushes then growing here, as it is stated in this deed, in the elaborate and precise style of the time, that the grant- ors "by these presents doe ffully, freely, clearly and absolutely give, grant, bargaine, sell, alien, enfeoffe, release, convey and confirm, unto the said James Foster," &c., the land alluded to, "from henceforth and forevermore," "together with all and singular the trees, timber, wood and underwood standing, lyeing and growing thereon." We are also informed, on good authority, that a lady who died in Milton about eighteen years ago, at the age of 96, used to tell of picking " huckleberries " at Dorchester Neck, when a child, and of finding the largest ones there she had ever seen .*
The same lady, who was a lineal descendant of Major-General Humphrey Atherton, whose monument and inscription in the old Dorchester burying-ground have been objects of interest for nearly two hundred years, was in the habit of relating the following account of an occurrence somewhat connected with our peninsula. Her grandfather's house, in Dorchester, was probably the one in which the General lived, and was situated near what is now the south- erly corner of Dorchester avenue and Pond street. IIere she fre- quently visited. On rising, one morning, her grandfather saw a bear under the trees near the house, eating pears. He immediately called the nearest neighbors, who came with their guns and dogs. The latter at once attacked the bear, who retreated across the land connected with the Moseley homestead, to the marsh below it and to the salt water - the men being unable to fire at him without endan- gering the dogs. He was driven into the bay, and swam towards Little Neck, the dogs not following him further. The bear was now fired upon and wounded, and with difficulty reached the opposite South Boston shore. The men were soon on the spot, and found
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It may likewise be added that Deacon John Clapp, of Roxbury, once found a wild duck's nest among the bushes on a little hammock a few rods south-east of the present iron foundries on Dorchester Avenue. This was probably about the time alluded to by the late Mr. Samuel Adams, the wire-cage maker, when he said in Faneuil Hall that he remembered when South Boston was a howling wilderness !
In 1705, Standfast Foster conveyed to his brother James his right in 8 acres of salt marsh at Dorchester Neck, lying, as the deed expresses it, " on the west- ward side of the aforesaid Neck." It was bounded on the "westerly side with the sea, easterly with a Creeck that run up towards the quarry and partly with the medow of sd Standfast Foster called the quarry medow, northerly with the medow or marsh of John and Preserv- ed Capen, and southerly with a Creeck."
E. (Page 84.)
ACT IN PART AUTHORIZING THE ERECTION OF THE BOSTON SOUTH BRIDGE.
SECT. 1 .- Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That William Tudor, Gardiner Greene, Jonathan Mason, and Harrison Gray Otis, Es- quires, so long as they shall continue proprietors as aforesaid, together with those who are, and shall be- come their associates, shall be a Corporation and Body Politic, under the name of The Proprietors of the Boston South Bridge ; and by that name may sue and prosecute,
him nearly exhausted with loss of blood; he was easily despatched, and the carcass carried home in triumph. Before night the bear was cooked, and an entertainment given in the evening, to which all the neighbors were invited. This story has been handed down in one branch of the family with such minuteness, that it is even told which of the ladies relished the bear's meat, and which were unable to eat it.
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and be sued and prosecuted to final judgment and exe- cution, and do and suffer all other acts and things, which Bodies Politic may or ought to do and suffer ; and that said Corporation shall have full power and authority to make, have and use a common seal, and the same to break, alter and renew at pleasure.
SECT. 3 .- And be it further enacted, That for the purpose of reimbursing the said Proprietors of the said Bridge, the money to be expended in building and supporting the same, and of indemnifying them, a toll be, and here- by is granted and established for the benefit of said Cor- poration, according to the rates following, viz .- For each single horse cart, sled or sleigh, six cents ; one per- son and horse, four cents ; each wheelbarrow, handcart, and every other vehicle capable of carrying like weight, two cents ; each single horse and chaise, chair, or sulkey, twelve cents ; coaches, chariots, phætons and curricles, seventeen cents each ; all other wheel carriages, or sleds, drawn by more than one beast, eight cents cach ; neat cattle or horses passing over said Bridge, exclusive of those rode or in carriages or teams, two cents cach ; swine and sheep, six cents for cach dozen, and at the same rate for a greater or less number ; and in all cases the same toll shall be paid for all carriages passing said Bridge, whether the same be loaded or not loaded : and to each team one man and no more shall be allowed, as a driver, to pass free from paying toll ; and at all times, when the toll-gatherer shall not attend to his duty, the gate or gates shall be left open; and the said toll shall commence at the day of the first opening of the said Bridge for passengers, and shall continue for. and during the term of seventy years from the said day, and be collected as shall be prescribed by the said Corporation.
SECT. 4 .- And be it further enacted, That the said Bridge shall be built of good and sufficient materials. not less than forty feet wide, and well covered with plank or timber, suitable for such a Bridge, with suffi- cient rails on each side for the safety of travellers and. 25
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protection of foot passengers ; and the said Bridge shall be kept accommodated with not less than twenty lamps, which shall be well supplied with oil, and lighted in due season, and kept burning until midnight; and there shall also be made a good and sufficient draw or passage- way, at least thirty feet wide in the channel over which said Bridge shall be built, proper for the passing and re-passing of vessels, through which vessels may pass free of toll ; and shall also erect at said draw, and main- tain in good repair, a well-constructed and substantial pier or wharf on each side of the said Bridge and ad- joining to the draw, every way sufficient for vessels to lie at securely ; and the said draw shall be lifted for all vessels without delay and without toll, except for boats passing for pleasure ; and it shall be lawful for the Pro- prietors of said Bridge to make the leaves of said draw twenty feet long instead of the width of said Bridge ; and the said Bridge shall be kept in good, safe and pass- able repair for the term of seventy years, to be comput- ed as aforesaid, and at the expiration of said term, shall be surrendered in like repair to the Commonwealth, who shall be deemed the successor of said Corporation ; and at the several places where the said toll shall be received, there shall be erected by the said Cor- poration, and exposed to open view constantly, a board or sign, with the rates of toll and all the tollable articles fairly and legibly written thereon in large or capital letters.
SECT. 5 .- And be it further enacted, That the Proprie- tors of said Bridge shall pay to the Master of every vessel that shall be loaded and of more than twenty tons register measure that shall pass through said draw, for the purpose of unloading her cargo, five cents a ton for each and every ton said vessel shall measure, and the like sum of five cents a ton to the Master of each and every vessel of more than twenty tons burthen that shall pass down and through said draw, loaded, on her outward passage. Provided, however, that the same vessel passing up and down, though loaded, shall not
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be paid for more than one passage. And it shall be lawful, at any period after three years from the passing of this act, for the Proprietors of said Bridge or the Di- rectors of the Roxbury Canal, to make application to the Governor, who, with the advice of Council, is here- by authorized, upon such application in writing, desiring that a revision of such premium of five cents as aforesaid, may be made, to appoint three impartial men to hear the parties, examine the premises, and increase or di- minish said premium of five cents as they shall think just ; and their award, signed by them or the major part of them, sealed, and certified to the Governor, and by him published, shall be binding upon all parties, and shall be the sum in future to be paid ;- And in like manner and by similar application and process, the same premium may be increased or diminished at the expira- tion of every five years, successively, during the term aforesaid.
SECT. 7 .- And be it further enacted, That if the said Corporation shall refuse or neglect, for the space of three years after the passing of this Act, to build and com- plete the said Bridge, then this Act shall be void and of none effect.
SECT. 8 .- Be it further enacted, That in case the Pro- prietors of said Bridge or any Toll-gatherer, or officer by them appointed, shall neglect or refuse to open the draw, or unnecessarily detain any vessel about to pass, the said Corporation shall forfeit and pay for every such refusal, neglect, or unreasonable detention, a sum not exceeding fifty dollars, nor less than twenty dollars, to be recovered by the owner or owners of such vessels in any Court proper to try the same, by a special action on the case.
In the House of Representatives,
March 5, 1804.
This bill, having had three several readings, passed to be enacted.
H. G. OTIS, Speaker.
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In the Senate, March 6, 1804.
This bill, having had two several readings, passed to be enacted.
DAVID COBB, President.
March 6, 1804-By the Governor Approved. CALEB STRONG.
A true copy-Attest,
JOHN AVERY, Sec'y.
The fifth Section was intended to remunerate the citi- zens of Roxbury for the damage which it was supposed would result to them from the building of the bridge.
F. (Page 94.) -
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A FREE BRIDGE IN THE CITY OF BOSTON.
SECT. 1 .- Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Re- presentatives, in General Court assembled, and by the au- thority of the same, That the City Government of the City of Boston are hereby authorized and empowered to build and construct, or cause to be built and con- structed, a Free Bridge, with one or more suitable and sufficient draws across the water and over the channel, in or near a direction in a straight line from or near Sca street, in Boston, to the newly made land in South Boston, and nearly in the direction of the Dorchester Turnpike, and to erect a Wharf, or Pier, on each side of said Bridge near said draws, for the accommoda- tion of vessels passing through said Bridge ; said Bridge and Wharves to be built upon such terms and condi- tions, and under such restrictions and regulations, as to them may appear suitable and proper, and in such man- ner as to cause no material obstruction to the ebb and flow of the water through and under the same. Provid- ed, however, That the said City of Boston shall be held to make compensation to any person or Corporation
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whose land shall be appropriated to the use of said Bridge, and also to any person or Corporation who may sustain damage by the obstruction of navigation, caused by the erection of said Bridge.
SECT. 2 .- Be it further enacted, That no toll or duty shall ever be exacted or paid for any travel over said Bridge, or passing the draws of the same, and the said City shall always be held liable to keep said Bridge and draw in good repair, and to raise the draw of said Bridge, and afford all necessary and proper accommodation to vessels that have occasion to pass the same by night or by day, and shall keep the said Bridge sufficiently lighted ; and if any vessel is unreasonably delayed or hindered in passing said draw, by the negligence of said City, or of their agents, in discharging the duties enjoined on them by this Act, the owners or commander of such vessel shall recover reasonable damages therefor of said City, in an action on the case, before any Court proper to try the same, which action shall be commenced, heard and tried, in either of the Counties of Middlesex or Essex ; and if the said City shall not, within three years from the passing of this Act, locate, construct, build and complete said Bridge, agreeably to the provisions of this Act, then this Act shall be void.
SECT. 3 .- Be it further enacted, That any person or Corporation sustaining any damage by the building of said Bridge, Wharves, or Piers, or from the exercise of any of the rights or powers hereby granted as aforesaid, may apply (if within one year from the time any such damage may have happened) to the Court of Common Pleas, within either of the Counties of Middlesex or Essex, for a Committee to be appointed to estimate the damage ; and upon such application the Court, after thirty days' notice, to said City to appear and show cause why such Committee should not be appointed, shall, if no good cause be shown to the contrary, appoint 3 or 5 disinterested freeholders, within the County in which such application shall have been made, at the expense of said City, which Committee, being first duly sworn be- 25*
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fore some Justice of the Peace, to be nominated by said Court, and giving due notice to both parties to appear, if they see fit, for a hearing before them, shall proceed to the duties of their appointment ; and they shall first inquire whether any damage has been sustained from the causes aforesaid, and if any, they shall estimate the same, and where the damage is annual, they shall so declare the same, in their report, and shall make return of their doings as soon as may be into the said Court ; and upon the acceptance of said report, judgment may be given thereon, with reasonable costs to the party prevailing. Provided, however, That either party, after the return of said report, may claim a trial by jury, and the Court shall thereupon stay judgment on said report, and trial shall be had by jury at the bar of said Court ; and if the party applying for a jury shall not obtain, in case it be the original applicant, an increase of damages, or in case it be the original respondent, a decrease of the damages awarded by the Committee, such party shall pay reasonable costs of such trial by jury, other- wise shall recover reasonable costs ; and upon any judgment rendered upon the report of such Committee, or the verdict of such jury, the Court may issue its ex- ecution accordingly, and also from year to year, where the damages awarded are annual, on motion of the party entitled thereto ; and an action of debt may be main- tained on such judgment ; and if upon notice to such City as aforesaid, to show cause why such Committee should not be appointed, said City shall appear and deny the applicant's title to the land damaged, or claim a title to do what is complained of without the payment of damages, or for an agreed composition, the Court shall first order a trial of the issue at the bar of said Court, or if there be an issue in law, shall try it themselves, and in either case, either party may appeal to the Su- preme Judicial Court as in other cases, and a certificate of the determination of the Sup. Jud. Court, on such appeal, in favor of the original applicant, shall be filed in said Court of Common Pleas, before such Committee
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shall be appointed ; and where annual damages are awarded by said Committee, or said jury, and judgment had accordingly, each party shall be entitled, after two years, to apply to said Court of Common Pleas, for an increase or decrease of said damages, and thereupon the same proceedings shall be had as upon the original ap- plication.
[Approved by the Lt. Governor, February 25, 1825.]
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G. (Page 157.)
EXTRACTS FROM THE WILL OF JOHN HAWES.
"I give and bequeath unto the said James Humphries, Henry Gardner, and Ebenezer Everett, or such of them as may be living at my decease, a lot of land situated at South Boston, containing about eight acres, inclusive of the roads laid out through the same, on which my dwelling-house now stands ; upon special trust and con- fidence that they cause the same to be secured and ap- plied to the following purposes, viz. : For the use of all such persons as shall hereafter reside at said South Boston ; that is to say, one half or moiety of the income and proceeds of said lot of land to be appropriated and applied forever by the said trustees, their associates and successors, to the support and maintenance of the gos- pel ministry, of the Congregational denomination, in and over the first Christian Church and Society of the same denomination, which may be formed, incorporated, and legally organized in said South Boston; and which said Church and Society shall congregate and worship in a house to be erected on a lot of land which I have appro- priated to the use of the gospel ministry, and given by deed, bearing date of June 13, 1807, to the inhabitants of said South Boston, for said use. And the other half and moiety of the income and proceeds of said lot of land, as aforesaid devised, to be appropriated and ap- plied forever, by the aforesaid trustees, their associates and successors, for the purpose of establishing and sup-
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porting public schools in said South Boston, in such way and manner as in the opinion of said trustees shall most tend to the benefit and advantage of the inhabitants of the said South Boston."
SECT. 23. "I furthermore give and devise to the said Humphries, Gardner, and Everett, or such of them as shall be living at my decease, the land which I have lately purchased of William Fiske, with the two dwell- ing-houses, two workshops, and other buildings on the same standing, situated at the south part of Boston, near the Boston line on Boston Neck, so called, toge- ther with all the rest, residue, and remainder of my real estate, of every description, upon special trust and con- fidence that they cause the income and proceeds of the premises to be disposed of and appropriated as follows, viz. :
" First-To discharge such of my debts and legacies as my personal estate may be insufficient to pay. Se- condly-To be applied in the altering, repairing and im- provement of the premises in such way and manner as the said devisees shall think most for the advantage of the same. Thirdly-To be appropriated to the use and purposes enumerated in the twenty-second clause of this Instrument, until the income of the same, and the in- come and proceeds of the estate in said twenty-second clause devised, shall have so increased and accumulated, as in the opinion of the said devisees, their associates and successors aforesaid, to answer all the purposes by me intended, as before described. And lastly-From and after that period the net income of the premises and improvements of the same shall be, by the said trustees, their associates and successors aforesaid, applied to the establishment of a second Congregational Church and Society, in said South Boston, at such place as the said trustees, their associates and successors, shall name and appoint ; to the settlement and support of a pious Christian minister or ministers, over the same ; and for erecting and maintaining a house of public worship for the same; and for the support and encouragement of such
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other seminaries of learning, and in such way and man- ner, as the said trustees, their associates and successors, shall think for the honor of God and the good and happi- ness of the inhabitants of South Boston aforesaid, and their posterity."
SECT. 24. " As to all the residue of my personal es- tate, of every description, I do hereby give and bequeath the same to the said Humphries, Gardner and Everett, or such of them as shall be living at my decease, to be, after the payment of my just debts and legacies, applied and appropriated by the said legatees, their associates and successors, to the purpose of erecting and maintain- ing a meeting-house for religious worship, on the land above referred to in this instrument, as already given by deed to the inhabitants of South Boston. But in case & meeting-house should be built on said land before my decease, then the said Humphries, Gardner and Everett, the survivor or survivors as aforesaid, their associates and successors, shall apply said residue of my personal estate for the support and maintenance of such gospel minister, or ministers, of the Congregational denomina- tion, as may be settled in and over the church and soci- ety, that shall worship in said house.
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