USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Quincy > History of old Braintree and Quincy : with a sketch of Randolph and Holbrook > Part 7
USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Braintree > History of old Braintree and Quincy : with a sketch of Randolph and Holbrook > Part 7
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1. " Jan. 31st, 1728-9. It was then voted that a Committee be chosen in be- half of the Town, to confer and agree upon some method for dividing the Town at their next meeting, for their acceptance, the said Committee to have consid- eration of the dividing line.
" Then also voted that a Committee of eight men, (four in the North precinct, and four in the other Precinct, ) be chosen for the affair above said, after which Major John Quincy, Lt. Joseph Neal, Mr. Benjamin Beal, Mr. Joseph Crosby, Mr. Thomas White, Mr. Nehemiah Hayden, Mr. Benjamin Ludden, and Mr. Richard Thayer, Secundus, being nominated, were separatly voted to be the Committee above said, after which, a vote being passed, therefore the meeting was adjourned until the last Monday in February next, at one of the Clock, afternoon."
"On February 24th, 1728-9, the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of the Town, being assembled by adjonrnment from January 31st last past, to Receive " the Report or agreement of the Committee chosen at their meeting on the said 31st day of January to agree upon a method for dividing the Town, &c.
" The said Committee appeared and presented their agreement thereabont in writing, subscribed by all the said Committee, (and being now on file, ) contain- ing eight articles, which was publickly Read in said meeting, after which, upon a motion made, the question was put whether the agreement of the Committee should be voted Article by Article, and it passed in the negative. The question was then put whether all the articles thereof should be voted upon at once. It passed again in the negative.
"The question was then again put whether they would accept of the Report of the said Committee. It again passed in the negative. After this, upon a motion made, The question was put whether they would Reconsider their last
9
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INCORPORATION OF QUINCY.
This question of separation was agitated for some years, when at last a few inhabitants of that part of Squantum that then be- longed to the town of Dorchester, with the people of the North Precinct of Braintree, Knight's Neck, and a part of the town of Milton, in 1791, petitioned the General Court for an act of incor- poration as a distinct township.1
vote, viz., non-acceptance, and it was voted in the Affirmative. Then again the question was put whether they would accept of the Report of the Com- mittee, and it passed in the negative. Upon which the meeting was dismissed."
1. Petition of the North Precinct of Braintree, and others, for a separation from Braintree as an independent municipality :
To the Honorable Senate and Honorable House of Representatives :
"The inhabitants of the North Precinct of Braintree, in the County of Suffolk, together with some others nearly adjacent, whose local circumstances, tho' with- out the limits of the said Precinct, are similar to theirs, Beg leave to lay before this Honorable Court their humble petition, expressive of their wishes to be incorporated into a distinct township.
"Your petitioners are so fully persuaded of the wisdom and justice of this Honorable Court, that they would not presume knowingly to ask any favor from the Fathers of their Country, which those governing principals could dis- approve.
" The inhabitants of the North Precinct of Braintree occupy that part of the present town which was antiently known by the name of Mount Wollaston, and was afterwards incorporated by the name of Braintree. The situation of this Precinct, together with the detached parts of Dorchester, separated from the rest of that town by the Neponset River, but joining on said North Precinct, is chiefly on the sea shore, containing several Peninsulars and Necks of land, which, from the winding of the shores and roads, make the common intercourse between the several parts long and tedious, and the great distance that must be travelled to many of your petitioners for the purpose of transacting business in the several towns to which they now belong is burthensome, and in some seasons of the year exceedingly difficult; and those of your petitioners in partic- ular who inhabit the Farms, (so called, ) and the long Peninsular known by the name of Squantum, humbly beg the Honorable Court to recollect that by their record it appears, that when their ancestors first settled on those detached lands on the south side of the river, there was then in that place a public road and ferry, established by authority of the government, which was the only commu- nication between the young sister Colonies of Massachusetts and Plymouth. By means of the ferry on Neponset River at the Farms, they had such free inter- course with their bretheren on the north side of the river, as probably first encouraged their settling down there, and afterwards gave them an easy partici- pation of all the civil and religious priviledges of the town of Dorchester, to which they belong. But your petitioners, the inhabitants of that part of Dor- chester, born long since that road and ferry have been disused, are now in a great measure deprived of their priviledges, more especially of the happiness of
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INCORPORATION OF QUINCY.
What is somewhat curious about this petition is, that the whole argument of the petitioners for a separation, is exclu- sively devoted to the interest and accommodation of a few people located in that part of Squantum then belonging to
worshiping with their friends and bretheren, in the house where only they had a right to worship and meet together. The river, being impassable for horses, is a constant bar to their meeting there, and they, with their children, are obliged to meet on Courtesy with their neighbors and joint petitioners, in the inceting-house in the North Precinct in Braintree. For these reasons, the inhabitants of the Farms, and Squantum in particular, would humbly urge their wishes to the Honorable Court, that they may be set off from Dorchester, together with their bretheren and priviledges, and joined to the said Northi Precinct of Braintree, and that such an incorporation might be granted as they on their part might enjoy the common priviledges of citizens and christians, of which, by their local circumstances, they have been, for a long time, in a great measure deprived.
" Your petitioners, being impressed with the common sentiment of their country, have a warm desire of seeing their children educated in such a manner as is best adapted to render them the most useful members of Society, and as they inhabit a long extent of sea coast, their character and habits of life will naturally take a maritime cast, and an education adapted to fit them for trade, navigation, fishery, and the attendant arts and manufactories, would be very desirable, and, as your petitioners humbly conceive, would be greatly advanced under such an incorporation, when those that advance the money for schools might apply it to the best advantage, and our youth be thereby rendered more extensively useful to their families, and benefactors to the public. For these reasons, your petitioners humbly pray that they, with their lands, may be incor- porated into a distinct town, by the name -- , agreeable to plans annexed, or within such other limitations as to your great wisdom may seem meet. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.
" The undersigned are the inhabitants of the North Precinct of Braintree :- Lemuel Badcock, Peter Brackett, Peter Bicknal,
Moses Black,
Elijah Vesey,
Norton Quincy,
Eben. Brackett,
Elijah Vesey, Jr.,
George Mears,
Henry Cleverly,
Jona. Webb,
Jona. Marsh,
Edw. W. Baxter,
Seth Burrell,
Jos. Cleverly, Jr.,
Rich. Newcomb,
John Newcomb,
Eben. Vesey,
John R. Newcomb,
Eben. Miller,
Peter Hartwick,
Remember Newcomb,
Rich. Cranch,
Mottram Vesey.
Edm'd Billings,
Daniel Arnold,
William Adams, Jona. Baxter, Loring White,
James Brackett, Seth Spear,
Moses Brackett, Jr.,
Leonard Cleverly,
Samuel Brown,
Seth Baxter,
Daniel Crane,
Samuel Hobart, William Meads,
Jos. N. Arnold,
Bryant Newcomb,
Abel Alleyn,
Edmund Savill,
Samuel Savill, 2d,
. Benj. Pray, Josiah Bass,
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INCORPORATION OF QUINCY.
Dorchester. Although the North Precinct of Braintree united with them in the petition for a separation, there is not, on their part, the least mention made in it that a distinct organization would be of any benefit or advantage to them.
Joseph Tirrell, Jr ..
Amos Stetson,
Joseph Bass, Joseph Hunt,
Benj. Saunders,
John Sanders,
Jed. Adams,
Jos. Cleverly, 2d,
Eben Newcomb, Jr. Joseph Baxter, Nath. Blanchard,
Win. Spear,
Abram Newcomb,
Wm. Vesey,
Thomas Cleverly,
Elisha Turner,
Benj. Beale,
Thompson Baxter,
Neddy Curtis,
James Apthorp,
James Field,
Eben Field,
Jos. Crane,
Thomas Phipps,
Benj. Field,
Jona. Beale,
John Chesman,
Wm. Field,
Nath'l Beale,
Nath. Glover,
Jackson Field,
Wm. Glover,
Thomas Brackett,
Samuel Bass, 2d,
Samuel Crosby,
Moses Brackett,
John Copeland,
Elisha Glover,
Ann Quincy,
Enock Horton,
Lemuel Billings,
Sam'l Bass,
Jos. Nightingale,
David Bass,
John Pray,
John Nightingale,
Thomas Pratt,
Ebenz. Crane,
Eben Nightingale,
Joseph Field,
Jos. Bass, 2d,
Sam'l Nightingale,
Henry T. Gay,
Caleb Hayden,
Dan. Nightingale,
Peter Burrell,
Benj. Bass,
Eben. Adams, Jr.,
Joseph Brackett,
John Hall,
Josiah Adams,
Wilson Marsh, Jr.,
Daniel Baxter,
Benj. Adams,
William Sanders,
Henry Hartwick,
Peter B. Adams, Jona. Bass,
James Howard,
Benj. Cleverly,
Fred'k Hartwick,
Joseph Tirrell,
John Cleverly,
Thomas Bass,
Samuel Savill,
Samuel Clark,
Daniel Hollis,
Mathew Pratt,
James Field,
Ebenz. V. Gay,
Fred. Hartwick. Jr.,
"The undersigned are the inhabitants of Dorchester, on the south side of Neponset river :-
Benj. Beale,
John Billings,
Josialı Glover,
Joseph Beale, Ebenz. Glover.
" The undersigned are the inhabitants of the Town of Milton :-
Charles Pierce, Dyar Rawson, Wm. Pierce, Jr.,
Lancelot Pierce,
Bartholomew Pierce, Lemuel Adams,
Wm. Pierce,
John Pierce, Hannah Rowe.
" The undersigned are the inhabitants of the Middle Precinct of Braintree, called Knight's Neck, viz .:- Ebenezer Newcomb,
Samuel Newcomb, Stephen Randall,
Francis Newcomb,
Oliver Newcomb, Thomas Newcomb,
Elijah Belcher, Jr.
1
Peter Adams,
Wm. Chandler,
1
Benj. Savill,
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INCORPORATION OF QUINCY.
The General Court seems to have considered the peti- tioners' reasons of sufficient weight, and their argument conclusive, as on the twenty-third of February, 1792, an aet was passed by the Legislature, granting the peti- tioners an act of incorporation as an independent township.1
The official sanction subscribed to this instrument for her becoming an independent municipality, was given by her hon- ored and illustrious son, John Hancock, then Governor of the State.
[COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. ]
In the Senate, Jan. 28th, 1791.
" On the petition of Peter Brackett, Eben. Miller and one hundred and twenty- seven other persons of the North Precinct of Braintree; Benjamin Beale and four other inhabitants of that part of Dorchester which lies north of Neponset River; Charles Pierce and eight other inhabitants of Milton; and of Ebenezer Newcomb and six other inhabitants of that part of Braintree called Knight's Neck, praying to be incorporated into a distinct town."
1. AN act for incorporating the North Precinct of the Town of Braintree, in the Connty of Suffolk, into a separate town by the name of Quincy, and for annexing sundry inhabitants of the town of Dorchester, with their estates, to the said Town of Quincy:
SECT. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That the lands comprised within the North Precinct of the Town of Braintree, as the same is now bound- ed, with the inhabitants dwelling thereon, be and they hereby are incorporated into a town by the name of Quincy, and the said town is hereby invested with all the powers, privileges and immunities to which Towns within this Common- wealth are or may be entitled, agreeable to the constitution and laws of the said Commonwealth.
SECT. 2. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the inhabi- tants of the said Town of Quincy shall pay all the arrears of taxes which have been assessed upon them by the Town of Braintree, and shall support any poor person or persons who have heretofore been or now are inhabitant of that part of Braintree which is hereby incorporated, and are or may become chargeable, and who shall not have obtained a Settlement elsewhere when they may become chargeable; and such poor person or persons may be returned to the Town of Quincy in the same way and manner that paupers may by law be returned to the Town or district in which they belong. And the inhabitants of the said Town of Quincy shall pay their proportion of all debts now due from the said Town of Braintree, and shall be entitled to receive their proportion of all debts and monies now due to the said Town of Braintree, and also their propor- tionable part of all the other property of the said Town of Braintree, of what kind or description.
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INCORPORATION OF QUINCY.
The municipal organization of the town of. Quincy at this time, was at an important epoch in the country's history, as the old civil and ecclesiastical customs and usages, which had gov- erned the colonies and province for nearly two centuries, were fast passing away, and a newer, higher, and nobler civilization was rapidly emerging from darkness into light. Church and State were in the last decade of their existence, and contin- tinued to langnish in this town until 1824, when the final separation of town and church was consummated. The Rev. Peter Whitney, in 1800, was the last minister ordained under the old regime, and the Rev. William Parsons Lunt, D. D., was the first minister ordained under the new. The begin- ning of the town as an independent organization was nearly
SECT. 3. Provided always that the lands belonging to the said Town of Braintree, for the purpose of maintaining schools, shall be divided between the said Town of Braintree and the Town of Quincy in the same proportion as they were respectively assessed for the payment of the last State tax, and no Town tax shall be laid by either of the said Townes upon the said lands so long as the rents thereof shall be appropriated to the purpose of supporting a school or schools.
SECT. 4. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That Benja- min Beale, Jr., Joseph Beale, John Billings, Eben Glover, Josialı Glover, inhabitants of that part of the Town of Dorchester, in said County of Suffolk, called Squantum and the Farms, with their lands and estates lying within the limits of Dorchester, called Squantum and the Farms, be and they hereby are set off from the said Town of Dorchester and annexed to the said Town of Quincy.
SECT. 5. And be it further enacted, That the said Benjamin Beale, Jr. Joseph Beale, John Billings, Eben Glover, and Josiah Glover, shall pay all the arrears of taxes which have been assessed upon them by the Town of Dorches- ter, together with all the expenses of maintaining the widow, descendants, or any part of the family of Thomas Wells, late of said Dorchester, deceased, which are or may become chargeable as the poor of the Town of Dorchester, and shall not be held to pay any other expenses whatever to the said Town of Dorchester.
SECT. 6. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That Richard Cranch, Esq., be and he is hereby authorized to issne his warrant, directed to some principal inhabitant, requiring him to warn and give notice to the inhab- itants of said Town of Quincy, to assemble and meet at some suitable time and place in the said Town, as soon as conveniently may be, to choose all such officers as towns are required to choose at their annual Town Meetings, in the month of March or April annually.
This act passed February 22d, 1792.
Signed by JOHN HANCOCK, Governor.
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INCORPORATION OF QUINCY.
coeval with the- formation of the National and State Govern- ments, and they have continued to progress together in harmony and prosperity, until nearly a century of their existence has been completed.
The person selected to give a name to the town was Rev. Anthony Wibird, then the minister of the First Church, but Mr. Wibird declined, and the Hon. Richard Cranch was then re- quested to furnish a name for the place, who recommended its being called Quincy, in honor of Col. John Quincy, which was accepted. This was not fully satisfactory to the people, as the inhabitants called a public meeting on May 14th, 1792, to see if the town would petition the General Court to have the name altered or changed to some other. After a candid and somewhat exciting discussion whether Hancock or Quincy should be the name, it was by a close vote decided that it should continue to be called by the name of Quincy.
No better description can be given of the natural scenery of the town, than the following by the eccentric sovereign of Merry Mount. In viewing with admiration the beauties of nature from his rude castle, which is said to have been located on the Mount, near the lone, barren savin tree, which has for ages with- stood the blasting storms as the only living emblem of the past, Morton gives the following poetical and truthful picture of the natural scenery of our beautiful village, before the white man's hand had adorned it by art and cultivation :
"In the month of June, 1622," he says in his New England Canaan, "it was my chance to arrive in the parts of New Eng- land, with thirty servants, and provision of all sorts fit for a plantation ; and while our houses were building, I did endeavor to take a survey of the country. The more I looked the more I liked it.
" And when I had more seriously considered the beauty of the place, with all her fair endowments, I did not think that in all the known world it could be paralleled. For so many goodly groves of trees, dainty, fine, round, rising hillocks, delicate, fair, large plains, sweet, crystal fountains, and clear running streams, that twine in fine meanders through the meads, making so sweet a murmuring noise to hear, as would even lull the senses with
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INCORPORATION OF QUINCY.
delight asleep, so pleasantly do they glide upon the pebble-stones, jetting most jocundly where they do meet, and hand-in-hand run down to Neptune's court, to pay the yearly tribute which they owe to him, as sovereign Lord of all the springs. Con- tained within the volume of the land, fowls in abundance, fish in multitudes ; and discovered besides, millions of turtle doves on the green boughs, which sat pecking of the full, ripe, pleasant grapes, that were supported by the lusty trees, whose fruitful load did cause the arms to bend; while here and there dispersed you might see lillies, and of the Daphnean tree,1 which made the land to me seem Paradise. For in mine eye 'twas Nature's masterpiece, her chiefest magazine of all, where lives her store. If this land be not rich, then is the whole world poor."
In 1800 the population of the town was only 1,081, principally farmers, quite poor and simple in their habits; but by industry and frugality in their agricultural pursuits, they were enabled to make a comfortable living. Their homes were hives of industry, and the music of the spinning-wheel ? was heard from early
1. Daphnean tree; laurel or bay tree. In Mythology Daphne, a nymph flying from Apollo, was supposed to have been turned into a bay or laurel tree.
2. Abont 1718 the foot or linen wheel, formerly so familiar in the households of New England, was introduced by a colony of Scotch-Trish emigrants. The manufacture of linen cloth was considered of great importance to the country. The people of Boston and neighborhood took hold of the matter with great earnestness and enthusiasm. A town meeting was called, and Judge Sewall presided as Moderator, for the purpose of deciding on the expediency of estab- lishing Spinning Schools. The result was the erection of a large, handsome brick building for the purpose, on the east side of Long Acres, (now Tremont street, ) near the present Hamilton Place. On the front of the building was placed a figure of a woman holding a distaff, as emblematic of its future use. An act was passed by the General Assembly, taxing carriages and other Inxu- ries for the support of these schools. Spinning wheels were the hobby horses of the public. The enthusiasm ran so high that the females of the town, rich and poor, gathered in crowds on the Common, with their wheels, and vied with each other in the dexterity of using them. For the times, probably a larger con- course of people never was drawn together. The yearly anniversary of this institution was celebrated by the trustees and company attending public wor- ship, when a sermon was delivered suited to the occasion, and a contribution made to aid the business. For some years it was spiritedly conducted, but as soon as the excitement died out the institution went with it. History, in this case, like many others, repeats itself, showing that the Yankee characteristic of overdoing many things they undertake was as rife at that time as at the present day.
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INCORPORATION OF QUINCY.
morn till late at night, fabricating their old-fashioned, substan- tial, home-spun cloth, which amply protected them from the chilling blasts of our cold northern winters. The wealth of the people was chiefly invested in their farms, houses, stock and grain. The system of trade at this time was barter, the people exchanging their agricultural productions for groceries, dry goods, and other necessaries of life. Money was scarce and hard to get, as the revolutionary war and depreciated paper currency had left its ruinous and financial trouble upon a de- pleted and nearly bankrupt community.
Their amusements were few, but highly enjoyed. Especially did they look forward with great pleasure to the autumn husk- ings, which, to them, was the merry festival of the year. Even to this day, elderly people relate with a great deal of zest the great pleasure and enjoyment they derived from the cheerful, sentimental songs and merry dances of the husking parties, con- sidering them much superior to all modern amusements.
"Farewell the pleasant husking night, it's merry after scenes,
When pumpkin-pies are placed beside the giant pot of beans ;
When ladies joined the social band, nor once affected fear, But gave a pretty cheek to kiss, for every crimson ear !"
During the process of husking, if a red car of corn was found by any one of the ladies, she was liable to receive a kiss from some of the company.
The surface of the town is diversified by hills, valleys and plains. Back from the bay some three miles is a range of elevated land, which, in some parts, is more than six hundred feet above the sea. These hills contain an inexhaustible supply of syenite. The height of Quincy, near the centre of the village, is two hundred and ten feet above the sea; Great Hill ninety- four feet, and Squantum ninety-nine feet.
Quincy is bounded on the northeast by Quincy Bay and Bos- ton Harbor ; on the south by Weymouth, Braintree and Ran- dolph; and on the northwest by Milton and Boston. In ter- ritory it contains thirteen and one-half square miles.
The soil of the town is generally of an excellent quality, and under fair cultivation. There are a number of fine, large and well cultivated farms ; still, with all the skill, judicious and eco-
10
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INCORPORATION OF QUINCY.
nomical management, they are far from being profitable. Those who conduct milk farms reap a larger and more satisfactory financial income.
The means of travel and transportation of merchandise to and from Boston and other places at the time of its incorpora- tion, were very limited. Those living on the sea-coast usually went by water; others, living more inland, shuing their panniers across their backs and accomplished their journey on foot; while the more wealthy, or those able to own horses, either travelled on horseback or in their carriages. There were in the town about a dozen one-horse chaises, cumbrous and antiquated in their construction and mechanical execution. We have heard elderly people relate how they used to sling their panniers across their horse's back or their own shoulders, and fill them with boots, shoes, or other merchandise, and travel off to Boston, and there exchange their goods for groceries or house- keeping materials, and return home the same day. Some quar- ter of a century after this, stage-coaches and omnibusses were established.
The roads were few and poorly constructed, or not constructed at all. Franklin, School, Hancock and Adams streets comprise what was then the Plymouth Turnpike,1 passing over Milton Hill, the only thoroughfare to Boston at that time. Elm street commenced at Hancock, passing by. where the Universalist Church now stands, and connected with Sea (now Canal) street
1. " The laying out and locating the old Plymouth Road was a source of great annoyance and trouble. Committee after committee was appointed, without coming to any definite result. It was eight or nine years in controversy before its final settlement.
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