USA > Massachusetts > History of the Military company of the Massachusetts, now called the Ancient and honorable artillery company of Massachusetts. 1637-1888, Vol. I > Part 16
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Mr. Fisher (1640) was "learned in the law," captain of militia, selectman of Dedham in 1650, and for thirty-two years representative to the General Court, from 1658 to 1682, - excepting two years, - town clerk, town surveyor, clerk of the writs, speaker of the House of Deputies three years, and in 1683, the year of his decease, was elected to the office of " assistant." In 1658, he is called in the colony records, "Sergeant";
Wentworth Day (1640). AUTHORITIES: Re- port of Boston Rec. Com, 1634-1660; Savage's Gen. Dict.
Henry Dunster (1640). AUTHORITIES: Life of Henry Dunster, First President of Harvard Col- lege, by Rev. J. Chaplin, D. D., 1872; Life of the same, by Samuel Dunster, 1876; Histories of HIar- vard College; New Eng. Hist. and Gen. Reg., 1873.
Daniel Fisher (1640). AUTHORITIES: Ded- ham Records; 250th Anniversary of Dedham, p. 65; Dedham Hist. Reg., 1892, p. 187, et seq .; Whit- man's Hist. A. and H. A. Company, Ed. 1842.
Lydia Fisher, daughter of Capt. Daniel (1640) was born in Dedham July 14, 1652. In 1671, she
went to Hadley into the family of Rev. John Russell, where for a year or more she waited upon the regicides, Whalley and Goff, who fled to this coun- try to escape the wrath of Charles II. (See Palfrey's Hist. of New Eng., Vol. II .; Dedham Hist. Reg., Vol. III., p. 117, Vol. IV., p. 20; New Eng. Hist. and Gen. Reg., 1862; . 250th Anniversary of Ded- ham, pp. 66, 209.)
Mr. Worthington says, in the last- named book, " The place where the Regicides were then con- cealed was known to but few persons in the whole Colony, and Lydia Fisher deserves to be remem- bered as a woman who not only kept a simple secret, but a great colonial secret."
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in 1673, he was promoted from ensign to captain of the Dedham company. He was first sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1655.
A list of the duties he discharged, and of the various positions on committees, etc., which he held, are set forth in detail in the Dedham Historical Register, Vol. III., p. 187, et seq. His residence in Dedham was on what is now Lowder Street, on the estate owned by Mrs. Rodman.
In February, 1681, Randolph, the agent of King James in the colony, exhibited articles of high misdemeanor against a "faction " (so called by Randolph) in the Gen- eral Court, to the lords in council. Among these men thus selected to be the victims of royal indignation was Capt. Fisher (1640). June 14, 1682, Randolph wrote to the Earl of Clarendon that a quo warranto had issued against the colony charter, and that a warrant had been sent out to carry Thomas Danforth, Samuel Nowell, Daniel Fisher, and Elisha Cook to England, to answer for high crimes and misdemeanors, and inti- mates that the prosecution which his papers and evidence would support would make their faction tremble.
"Capt. Fisher [1640] was speaker of the House at this time, and was, we must believe, a man of great influence therein, otherwise he would not have been so much noticed at the British court. Indeed, in such a time, his high spirit and resolute mind would not permit him to be a timid and wavering man. He lived not to witness the capture of Sir Edmund Andros, and the other associates of his tyranny, at Fort Hill, in April, 1689, and an end put to their oppressions by that event. But it must be remem- bered that he contributed much to cherish that firn. spirit of resistance, which produced that change, and which early taught what a brave and united people might do. Many of his descendants have inherited his high and patriotic spirit. I relate one anecdote, which illustrates the character of this family, and the spirit of the times. It was told me by the Hon. Ebenezer Fisher, of this town, late one of the Council, a descendant of Capt. Fisher. When Sir Edmund was captured on Fort Hill, by the Bostonians, he surren- dered, and went unarmed to Mr. Usher's [1638] house, where he remained under guard for some hours. When the news of this event reached Dedham, Capt. Daniel Fisher [born in 1650], the son of the proscribed patriot, then dead, - a stout, strong man, possessing his father's hatred of the tyrant, and his resolute spirit, -instantly set out for Boston, and came rushing in with the country people, who were in such a rage and heat as made all tremble again. Nothing would satisfy the country party but binding the Governor with cords, and carrying him to a more safe place. Capt. Fisher was seen among the crowd, leading the pale and trembling Sir Edmund by the collar of his coat from the house of Mr. Usher [1638], back to Fort Hill. History has informed us of this incident in that revolution, but it has never informed us who took the lead of the country people, and who had the honor of leading the proud represent- ative of a Stuart Prince, the oppressor of the colony, through the assembled crowd, and placing him in safe custody at the fort."
Capt. Fisher (1640) "was likewise much employed in the various affairs of the town. Did any enterprise require a hardy and skilful agent, he was the man most likely to be selected. In 1663, he, with another, went through the wilderness in search of a tract of good land, which a vague rumor had hinted was about twelve miles from Hadley. He had the honor of being sent an ambassador to King Philip, to negotiate a treaty for his lands at Wrentham."
The late distinguished Fisher Ames was descended maternally from him.
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Joshua Fisher (1640), of Dedham, son of Joshua, first cousin of Anthony (1644) and of Daniel (1640), was baptized at Syleham, England, April 2, 1621. He came to Dedham in 1637, and joined the Dedham church in August, 1639. He was admitted a freeman May 13, 1640. He married, (1) Nov. 15, 1643, Mary Aldis, of Dedham, who died Sept. 3, 1653, and, (2) Feb. 16, 1654, Lydia, widow of Samuel Oliver (1648), of Boston. He died at Dedham, Aug. 10, 1672, and his widow died Feb. 2, 1683.
Mr. Fisher (1640) was very active in town matters. He was town clerk four years, and selectman twenty-one years. He was licensed by the General Court, Oct. 20, 1658, " to sell strong water to relieve the inhabitants, being remote from Boston, for one year." His tavern was near the present junction of High and Court streets, in Dedham, to the keeping of which his son, Capt. Joshua, succeeded. The inventory of his estate shows that he was surveyor, apothecary, and innholder, and he was likewise " a maker of artistic maps." 1
In 1642, the town granted him a lot of eight acres, and another of six acres, and the next year an additional lot. From the colonial archives of Massachusetts Bay we learn that in 1648 he was appointed lieutenant of the military company in Dedham, and usually after this time he is styled " Lieutenant," and when he is not, his name is connected with some survey that identifies his individuality. In 1649, he petitioned for relief from the excise of wines; in 1650 was appointed by the General Court to run the line between Sudbury and Watertown ; in 1653, 1662, 1663, 1664, 1666, 1667, 1668, 1671, and 1672, was elected deputy to the General Court; in 1656 was appointed to lay out Mr. Alcock's land, also Mr. Bradstreet's eight hundred acres; in 1664, the General Court granted him three hundred acres of land for surveying the south line of the patent of Massachusetts Bay, next to Plymouth ; in 1666, he settled the controversy between Mr. Z. Gold and Gov. Endicott, as to land bounds, and laid out Gov. Endicott's farm, on Ipswich River ; in 1667 was appointed, with others, to lay out the town of Mendon ; also to lay out Dedham's eight thousand acres, near Hadley. In 1670, the General Court ordered a further survey of the line between Massachusetts and Plymouth, and Oct. 11, 1670, the bill, forty shillings, of Lieut. Fisher (1640), for doing the same, was paid to his children. The survey was reported to the General Court May 15, 1672, and Lieut. Fisher (1640) died in August of that year.
From the records of Dorchester, we learn that Lieut. Fisher (1640) was employed to run the line between Dedham and Dorchester; in 1670, to run the line from " Blue Hill" to Plymouth ; in 1661, Dorchester paid him for a new map of the town, and in 1670, for a second revised map. The Dedham records show that, in 1649, he was deputed, and undertook to make, a true plat of the outmost lines of the town.
He was second sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1648.
The honorable positions accorded him by the town, the military, and the Common- wealth, prove that he was a sagacious, capable, and active man, in whom his own and the adjoining towns had perfect confidence.
Joshua Fisher (1640). AUTHORITIES: Ded- ham Records; 250th Anniversary of Dedham, pp. 66, 193; Dedham Hist. Reg., 1891, 37; 1892, 191; Mass. Col. Archives; Whitman's Hist. A. and H. A. Company, Ed. 1842.
The tavern, fronting on High Street, passed from Capt. Joshua to his daughter Mary, wife of Dr. Nathaniel Ames, Sr. On the death of his wife, in 1737, and of his son, in 1738, Dr. Ames
inherited the property. He married, Oct. 30, 1742, Deborah Fisher, who was the mother of Fisher Ames, known in history. The tavern was called the Ames Tavern until the Revolution, when it be- came known as Woodward's Tavern, and was taken down in 1817. It was the birthplace of Fisher Ames. - See Dedham Hist. Reg., Vol. II., p. 37.
1 Hon. Charles Levi Woodbury's MSS.
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John Friend (1640) was of Salem in 1637; but in 1640, "30th day of the 1st moneth," Boston Records say, "John Friend, Carpenter, now dwelling in this Towne, is to be allowed to be an Inhabitant thereof." 1 In 1654, he is again recorded in Salem as a carpenter. He is named in 3 Mass. Hist. Coll., III., 159, in connection with the Pequot War.
His removal to Boston was perhaps occasioned by his obtaining work at Cambridge. In the History of Harvard College, by Josiah Quincy, it appears that John Friend (1640) was one of the carpenters who worked on the first college building. His name occurs several times in the treasurer's reports, as being paid for his labor. In 1639, he made a donation in work to the college of £7 8s .; the same year discounted f10 on his bill, and made another donation of £3 10s. He was a sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1640.
His will was dated Jan. 4, 1656, in which year he died, probably at Salem.
John Gutteridge (1640) (Goodridge), of Boston in 1640, was a tailor. He became a member of the church Jan. 29, 1642, and a freeman May 18 of that year. He was admitted to be a townsman in Boston, Jan 31, 1641-2. By his wife, Prudence, he had a son, born in Boston, Oct. 1, 1642.
William Hudson (1640), of Boston, was admitted a freeman Oct: 12, 1640. " Before the birth of his daughter, Hannah," March 12, 1644, he went to England and served as ensign in the company of John Leverett (1639), under Israel Stoughton (1637), Rainsburrow's (1639) regiment, in the Earl of Manchester's army, on the side of Parliament. He became tired of the service and returned home. His return may have been hastened "by a sad business which fell out this year [1645] in Boston," an account of which is given in Winthrop's History, Vol. II., p. 249, and is quoted by Whitman in his History of the Artillery Company, second edition, p. 105. According to the Boston Records, " April 2, 1638, William Hudson [1640], called ' the Younger,' was granted a lot at Muddy River for 3 heads ; July 2, 1639, Richard Carter carpenter may buy a house and ground of William Hudson [1640] the Younger, next Thos Oliver's new house plot; condition, inoffensive carriage; March 30, 1640, he was allowed by the General Court to keep an ordinary, and was elected a surveyor at Boston in 1647." He sold his house and garden, on Washington Street, between West and Boylston streets, to Richard Carter, in 1639. By Boston Records, City Doc. 46, p. 94, it appears that William Hudson (1640) owned property at the corner of "Hudson's Lane now Elm Street." This was known as the "Castle Tavern," and Hudson (1640) and his wife Anne conveyed it, in 1674, to John Wing (1671).
The two hundred soldiers to be raised in Massachusetts in 1664, for the Dutch
John Friend (1640). AUTHORITIES: New Eng. Hist. and Gen. Reg., 1847, 1852; Quincy's Hist. Harv. Coll .; Report of Boston Rec. Com., 1634-1660; Savage's Gen. Dict.
John Gutteridge (1640). AUTHORITIES: Sav- age's Gen. Dict .; Report of Boston Rec. Com .. 1634-1660.
William Hudson (1640). AUTHORITIES : Whitman's Hist. A. and H. A. Company, Ed. IS42; Savage's Gen. Dict .; Report of Boston Rec. Com., 1634-1660; New Eng. Hist. and Gen. Reg., IS47,
1879, 1880; King's Chapel Burial-Ground, by Bridgman.
I Mr. Savage believes that John Friend (1640) was at Saybrook, Conn , prior to his being at Salem. His opinion was probably based upon the following paragraph in a letter of Gov. Winthrop to his son John, Governor of Connecticut, over date of " 10 of the 4. 1636": " I pray deliver this letter enclosed to John Friend, and if he pay you the money, de- liver him his bill, (which is here also enclosed; ) if not, I pray return it to me."
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expedition, were to be commanded by Capt. Hugh Mason and Capt. William Hudson (1640). William Hudson (1640) was appointed a commissioner to King Philip, at Taunton, in 1670, in company with William Davis (1643) and Thomas Brattle (1675).
William Hudson (1640) was a lieutenant in a militia company in Boston, in 1654, captain of the same in 1661, fourth sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1646, third sergeant in 1647, second sergeant in 1650, first sergeant in 1651, ensign in 1653, lieutenant in 1656 and 1660, and captain in 1661.
Administration on his estate was granted Sept. 9, 1681, to Col. Samuel Shrimpton (1670). Bridgman describes the gravestone of Capt. William "Hutson," in King's Chapel Burial-Ground. At the top, it bears representations of " cross-bones" and an " hour glass", under them respectively the words "Memento mori" and "Fugit hori," and beneath are the following words : "Memento esse mortalium. Here lyeth buried ye body of Capt William Hutson aged 67 years departed this life December ye 6, 1680."
John Humfrey (1640), of Lynn, was " a gentleman of great merit for his services and affection to our country in its first attempts." At the second meeting of the Massachusetts Company in London, in 1629, he was chosen deputy governor, but did not come over before July, 1634.1 The company's interest demanding that he should remain in England, Thomas Dudley was chosen to serve in his place, and came over with Winthrop in 1630. Expecting the arrival of Mr. John Humfrey (1640), he was chosen assistant in 1632 and 1633, and on and after his arrival, until 1642. He was bred a lawyer, and married Susan, daughter of the third Earl of Lincoln. When Mr. Humfrey (1640) came over he brought not only his wife and children, but, says Win- throp, "more ordnance, muskets and powder."
He was one of the six original purchasers of Massachusetts Bay, March 19, 1627, from the Council of Plymouth. A royal charter was necessary. This passed the seals March 4, 1628-9. The annual election of officers under the charter took place on the 13th of May, 1629, when the governor, deputy governor, and assistants were chosen, Mr. Humfrey (1640) being the fifth assistant named. Mr. Endicott, who had been designated, April 30, 1629, as governor of the plantation, had already arrived at Salem on the 6th of September preceding. His instructions, dated London, April 30, 1629, were signed by the members of the Company of the Massachusetts Bay, including Mr. Humfrey (1640), who was elected deputy governor in 1629.
On his arrival, he settled in Lynn. His residence was on the east side of Nahant Street, and overlooked the sea, Nahant, and the beach. He owned land in Swampscott, granted him in 1632 and in 1635 ; he had another five hundred acres in what is now Lynnfield, including the little pond still known as Humfrey's Pond. He was admitted a member of the Salem church Jan. 16, 1638. In 1641, the General Court made him a grant of two hundred and fifty pounds, probably on account of his having had his house, barn, hay, etc., burned in 1640. The servant by whose carelessness it occurred was severely punished, being doomed to serve his master twenty-one years, without wages.2
John Humfrey ( 1640). AUTHORITIES: New Eng. Ilist. and Gen. Reg., 1877; Whitman's Hist. A. and H. A. Company, Ed. of 1842; Savage's Winthrop, Vols. I. and II .; Savage's Gen. Dict .; Boston Commercial Gazette, Ang. 31, 1826; Lewis's Hist. of Lynn.
1 " [July, 1634.] Mr. Humfrey [1640] and the lady Susan, his wife, one of the Earl of Lincoln's
sisters, arrived here." - Savage's Winthrop, Vol. I., . 160. 2 " Henry Stevens, for firing the barn of his master, Mr. John Humfrey [1640], he was ordered to be servant to Mr. Humfrey for 21 years from this clay, towards recompensing the loss." - Records of Mass. Bay, I., 295, Nov. 1, 1640.
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At the General Court held April 2, 1641, it was ordered that John Humfrey (1640) be "Sergeant-Major General." He was, therefore, the first person who held that office, and none other is mentioned until the organization of the militia in 1644, when Thomas Dudley was chosen to that office by the Legislature. He was appointed in 1636, with Capt. Nathaniel Turner (1637), to lay out the bounds of Ipswich. His eldest son, John, joined the Artillery Company in 1641. He returned to England Oct. 26, 1641, and died in 1661. Gov. Winthrop says, "Among the chief was John Humphrey, Esq., a gentle- man of special parts of learning and activity, and a godly man, who had been one of the first beginners in promoting of this plantation and had labored very much therein. He, being brought low in his estate, and having many children, and being known to Lords of Providence [Isle], and offering himself to their service, was accepted to be the next Governor."
During his official terms as assistant, Mr. Humfrey (1640) was granted two tracts of land, - one in " Marble Head " and one in Saugus ; was appointed to divide the land in Ipswich, and to lay out Mr. Dunster's farm ; was one of the committee on military affairs ; a commissioner concerning the will of William Paine, Sr., and was appointed to hold courts in Salem and Saugus.
Mr. Lewis, in his History of Lynn, portrays at length the character of Mr. Humfrey (1640). He says, " He was a native of Dorchester, England, - a lawyer and a man of considerable wealth and good reputation : an original patentee of the colony and treasurer of the Company. . .. It is not improbable that he experienced a secret chagrin at seeing the young and uninformed Henry Vane promoted to the office of Governor, above one whose years, knowledge, and services entitled him to precedence. It is probable, like- wise, that his affection for his wife, whose hopes were in the land of her nativity, had some influence in determining his conduct. Living so far from the elegant circles in which she had delighted, and having lost the sister (Lady Arbella) who might have been the companion of her solitude, the Lady Susan was weary of the privations of the wilder- ness, the howling of wild beasts, and the uncouth manners of the savages, and had become lonely, disconsolate, and homesick. She had been the delight of her father's home, and had glittered in all the pride of youth and beauty, in the court of the first monarch in Europe [but] was now solitary and sad, separated by a wide ocean from her father's home. . . . What the misfortunes and disappointments of Mrs. Humfrey had begun, her importunities completed. He sold the principal part of his farm to Lady Moody and returned to England with his wife on the 26th of October, 1641. . . . The misfortunes which afterward befell some of his children, inflicted a wound on the heart of the affectionate father from which he never recovered."
John Hurd (1640), of Boston, was a tailor, admitted, with his wife, Mary, to the First Church July 7, 1639, and to be a freeman May 13, 1640.1 "A great lot at the Mount" was granted him July 29, 1639, one house lot Feb. 24, 1639-40, and another Jan. 31, 1641-2. John Leverett (1639) granted to John Hurd (1640) a house lot in exchange for a lot in the New Field. This property of Hurd's (1640), including house
John Hurd (1640). AUTHORITIES : Savage's Gen. Dict .; Report of Boston Rec. Com .; New Eng. Ilist. and Gen. Reg., 1865; see the Diary of John Hull, p. 193, with note quoting the Records of the First Church.
1 " John Ilord, tailor having served Mr William IIutchinson in this Town divers years is allowed to be an inhabitant." - Boston Records, March 25, 1639.
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and garden, was situated about midway between Summer and Bedford streets, on Washington Street, and was mortgaged by Mr. Hurd (1640) in 1649, to Gov. Dudley, for twenty-three pounds. John Hurd (1640) died Sept. 23, 1690.
Thomas Lechford (1640), of Boston, a lawyer from Clement's Inn, London, came over in 1637. He was the first attorney who emigrated to New England. He found it difficult to earn his bread. "Attorneys were discountenanced, though not actually forbidden, and a prisoner or suitor might plead his own cause, or a friend might appear for him, but not for a fee Lechford, for going to a jury and pleading with them out of Court was debarred from pleading any man's cause hereafter unless his own, and admonished not to presume to meddle beyond what he shall be called to by the Court."
At a court held Dec. 1, 1640, "Mr. Thomas Lechford [1640], acknowledging he had overshot himself, and is very sorry for it, promising to attend to his calling, and not to meddle with controversies, was dismissed." He tried to maintain himself as a scrivener, but obtained little employment, and his doctrinal positions were prejudicial to his success. "I am kept," he wrote, "from the Sacrament and all place of preferment in the Commonwealth, and forced to get my living by writing petty things which scarce finds me bread ; and therefore sometimes I look to planting of corn, but have not yet here an house of my own to put my head in, or any stock going." Having become thoroughly discouraged, he returned to England in 1641, in the same ship with Hugh Peter, Thomas Welde, and John Winthrop, Jr.
In 1642, he issued in London a pamphlet of forty pages, entitled " Plain Dealing or Newes from New England." He gives therein minute accounts of methods in Massa- chusetts Bay, such as conducting elections, trials, etc. The forms of trial which so much concerned him, he thus describes : "Twice a year, in the said great Quarter Courts, held before the General Courts, are two grand juries sworn for the jurisdiction, one for one Court and the other for the other; and they are charged to inquire and present offences, reduced by the Governor, who gives the charge, (generally) under the heads of the ten commandments. Matters of debt, trespass, and upon the case, and equity, yea, and of heresy also, are tried by a jury, which, although it may seem to be indifferent, and the magistrates may judge what is law and what is equal, and some of the chief ministers inform what is heresy, yet the jury may find a general verdict, if they please ; and seldom is there any special verdict found by them, with deliberate argu- ments made thereupon, which breeds many inconveniences. The parties be warned to challenge any juryman, but because there is but one jury in court for trial of cases, and all parties not present at their swearing, the liberty of the challenge is much hindered, and some inconveniences do happen thereby. Juries are returned by the Marshal ; he was at first called the Beadle of the Society. Seldom is there any matter of record, saving the verdict, many times at random taken and entered, which is also called the judgment. The parties in all cases speak themselves, for the most part ; and some of the magistrates, where they think cause requireth, do the part of advocates, without fee or reward."
Hutchinson calls him "a discontented attorney," and adds, "He left England about the year 1637, being dissatisfied with the ecclesiastical government, and having
Thomas Lechford (1640). AUTHORITIES : Savage's Gen .Dict .; Savage's Edition of Winthrop's Hist. of New Eng .; Hist. A. and H. A. Company,
Ed. 1842; Hutchinson's IIist. of New Eng .; Rec- ords of Mass. Bay, I., 294; Mem. Hist. of Boston, Vol. I.
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made himself obnoxious by his opposition to Episcopacy. When he came to New England, he found every church-member a bishop; and not inclining to become one himself, he could not be admitted a freeman among them. The court took advan- tage of an offence of another nature, his going to the jury and pleading with them out of court, and debarred him from pleading any man's cause besides his own. He became in England, a zealous Episcopalian." Mr. Cotton says that Mr. Lechford (1640) died soon after he published his book.
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