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 51
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1704-5. The officers elected were : Thomas Hutchinson (1694), captain ;
Adam Winthrop (1694), lieutenant ; John Noyes (1698), ensign. Francis Clarke (1701) was first sergeant ; John Wharton (1699), second ser- geant ; Henry Bridgham (1699), third sergeant ; John Edwards (1699), fourth sergeant, and Edward Oakes (1700), clerk.
The year 1704 was a notable era in Boston. The fortifications of the town were examined and repaired under the direction of a committee, consisting of Elisha Cooke, Esq., Col. Elisha Hutchinson (1670), Col. Penn Townsend (1674), Col. Thomas Savage (1693), and Capt. Timothy Clarke (1702).
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The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England was organized in England, and the following gentlemen were authorized by the corporation to carry out its provisions in New England, viz. : Wait Winthrop (1692), Rev. Increase Mather, Gabriel Bernon, Nehemiah Walter, Samuel Sewall (1679), Peter Sergeant, John Foster (1679), Thomas Bannister, Col. John Higginson, Edward Bromfield (1679), Eliakim Hutchin- son, Penn Townsend (1674), Jeremiah Dummer (1671), and Simeon Stoddard (1675).
The members recruited in 1704 were : John Leverett, Jonathan Loring, John Sale, and Thomas Salter.
John Leverett (1704), of Cambridge, son of Hudson Leverett (1658), grandson of Gov. John Leverett (1639), and brother of Thomas Leverett (1703), was born in Boston, Aug. 25, 1662. He graduated at Harvard College in 1680, after which, for several years, he remained at the college, and was a tutor during part of the presidency of Dr. Increase Mather. "Dr. Mather was absent in England nearly four years, from 1688 to 1691, and Mr. Leverett [1704] and William Brattle," son of Capt. Thomas Brattle (1675), " had the instruction of the students." During these years the college flourished. The two teachers aboved named "were among the most learned men of their age, and were members of the Royal Society in London."
Mr. Leverett (1704) first studied theology in connection with his tutorship, and preached occasionally for several years ; but he finally studied law, and practised in the courts. He represented Cambridge in the General Court, and was speaker in 1700. He was appointed judge of the Superior Court, July 8, 1702, and held that office until his election as president of Harvard College ; was judge of probate from Oct. 23, 1702, to July 8, 1708, when he was succeeded by Francis Foxcroft (1679), and a member of the council in 1705. On the death of Rev. Samuel Willard in 1707, he was elected presi- dent of Harvard College (being lieutenant of the Artillery Company the same year), and continued to act in that office until his decease. He died peacefully, May 3, 1724. His eulogists represent him as a man of vast learning and of genuine piety. Dr. Appleton, in a funeral discourse a few days after the death of President Leverett (1704), said, " He was a pillar both of the Church and State, an honor and ornament to society, and the glory of New England."
" His qualifications" for the presidency "were not only eminent in degree but singularly various. He had a great and generous soul. His natural abilities were of a very high order. His attainments were profound and extensive. He was well acquainted with the learned languages, with the arts and sciences, with history, philosophy, law, divinity, politics ; and such was his reputation for knowledge of men and things, that, in almost every doubtful and difficult case, he was resorted to for information and advice.
"To his wisdom and knowledge he added great firmness, resolution, and energy of character. His great abilities being consecrated to the service of God and of his generation, he was never deterred by difficulties or dangers from any undertaking which
John Leverett (1704). AUTHORITIES: New Eng. Hist. and Gen. Reg., 1847, 1850; Histories of Harv. Coll .; Eliot's Biog. Dict.
"Tuesday Oct. 28. 1707. The Fellows of Har- vard College met and chuse Mr. Leverett President : He had eight votes, Dr. Increase Mather three, Mr Cotton Mather one and Mr Brattle of Cambridge one. Mr White did not vote and Mr Gibbs came when voting was over." - Scwall Papers, Vol. II., p. 196.
"Septr 6. 1703, Artil. Training. I Train'd in the Forenoon, As I was going, Mr. Oakes met me and ask'd if I had not heard the News? He said French King; he had his Neck broken by a fall from his Horse as he was viewing an Army Rais'd to goe against those of the Cevenes." - Sewall Papers, Vol. II., p. S8.
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Providence seemed to impose upon him. He was liberal and catholic in his sentiments and feelings ; and though, among the various institutions of the Commonwealth, he had the preservation of its religious establishments greatly at heart, he did not place religion so much in particular forms and modes of worship, or discipline, as in those substantial and weighty matters of the gospel, righteousness, faith, and charity."
He married (1) Mrs. Margaret (Rogers) Berry, -whose mother was Elizabeth, only daughter of Major-Gen. Denison (1660) and granddaughter of Gov. Thomas Dudley, - and (2) Mrs. Sarah Harris, daughter of Richard Crisp. After the decease of Mr. Leverett (1704), his widow married Hon. John Clarke in 1725, and subsequently, in 1731, she married Rev. Benjamin Colman, who delivered the Artillery election sermon in 1702. Mr. Leverett (1704) had several children, but all of his sons died in infancy.
" For forty years," says Dr. Colman, " he has shown in this place and in the eyes of this Society, in near a meridian lustre. The young saw him and hid themselves, and the aged arose and stood up. Then men gave ear to him and waited and kept silence at his counsel."
Mr. Flint's funeral oration ascribes to him Aristotle's words to Plato.1 His literary merits procured him honors from abroad, particularly membership in the Royal Society of London.
He was lieutenant of the Artillery Company in 1707.
Jonathan Loring (1704), of Boston, son of Josiah and Elizabeth (Prince) Loring, of Hingham, was born at Hingham, April 24, 1674, but settled in Boston, where he died Oct. 15, 1752.
He was elected clerk of the market in 1704; constable in 1707; assessor from 1714 to 1728, except in 1719, and selectman for three years, 1729-31. He married, about 1700, Elizabeth Austin, born May 6, 1673, daughter of Richard Austin, of Charles- town. In 1732, he lived on Salem Street. He was third sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1710, and became a member of the Old South Church, Nov. 22, 1730, when he withdrew from the First Church.
John Sale (1704), innholder, of Boston, son of Obadiah and Sarah Sale, of Boston, was born in Boston, July 23, 1680. He married Rebecca, daughter of Col. Penn Town- send (1674). He first kept an inn at the lower end of King Street in 1723; but in 1725 he asked for a license to continue as an innholder on Newbury (Washington) Street. July 5, 1728, he was licensed as an innholder in Corn Market, and March 3, 1735-6, he again opened a tavern at the lower end of King Street. He was a scav- enger in 1725, and occupied a cellar under the town-house from May 22 to Oct. 7, 1714, at a rental of £5 5s. He was third sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1714, and its ensign in 1719. He was surety on the bond of the tax collector of Rumney Marsh, in 1734, to the amount of four hundred and sixty pounds.
Thomas Salter (1704), shopkeeper, of Boston, married, May 4, 1693, Mary Hab- berfeeld, and May 11, 1707, both of them joined the Old South Church. He served the
Jonathan Loring (1704). AUTHORITIES : Boston Records; Ilist. of Old South Church.
John Sale (1704). AUTHORITY: Boston Records.
Thomas Salter (1704). AUTHORITY : Boston Records.
"[1714] Oct. 19. Went to the Salt works and
Run the bounds; . .. came away to Lt Tho. Salters Funeral." - Sewall Papers, Vol. III., p. 22.
There were two persons having this name in Boston at this time. It is difficult to distinguish between them.
1 "Hic jacet homo, quem non licet, non decet, impiis vel ignorantibus laudare."
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[1705-6
town as constable in 1705, and as surveyor of highways in 1707. In 1711, he was first sergeant of the Artillery Company. In 1712, he was a member of the Boston militia, and was appointed a tithing-man. The inventory of his property, returned to the court in 1714, was £12,187 9s. 10d.
In the Boston News-Letter of June 12 to 19, 1704, is the following statement : "Capt. Thomas Hutchinson, Captain; Capt Adam Winthrop, Lieutenant; and Mr. John Noyes, Ensign ; officers of the Honourable Artillery Company, have caused the printing of the Election Sermon."
The record of the Artillery Company for 1704 is as follows : " April 3ª 1704. The Rev'd Mr. Henry Gibbs 1 was chosen to preach the next Election sermon, and the Com- mission officers, with Samuel Sewall [1679], Esqr and Capt. Samuel Checkley [1678] were desired to request him to preach. Accepted by him."
Rev. Henry Gibbs, of Watertown, delivered the Artillery election sermon of 1704. He was a son of Robert and Elizabeth (Sheaffe) Gibbs, of Boston, and was born Oct. 8, 1668. He graduated at Harvard College in 1685, and after graduation continued his studies at the college. He married, June 9, 1692, Mercy, daughter of William Greenough (1675). Her mother, wife of William, was Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas Upshall (1637). Henry Gibbs was ordained Oct. 6, 1697, and settled in Watertown, where he died Oct. 21, 1723.
1705-6. The officers elected were : Thomas Savage (1693), captain ; Thomas Fitch (1700), lieutenant ; John Kilby (1691), ensign. Thomas Smith (1702) was first sergeant; Adino Bulfinch (1702), second sergeant ; Nicholas Buttolph (1694), third sergeant ; John Cotta, Jr. (1698), fourth sergeant, and Edward Oakes (1700), clerk.
The year 1705 was laden with doubts and fears for the people of Boston, on account of the war then in progress, and the Artillery Company, as well as business and public interests, felt the depressing effect. There were no members of the Artillery Company recruited in 1705-6. The usual meetings of the Company were held, however, as appears from the following record : -
" April 2ª 1705. The Rev'd Mr. John Sparhawk was chosen to preach the next Election sermon and the Commission officers were desired to request him to preach. Not accepted by him, by reason of indisposition ; but by request made to the Rev'd Mr. Thomas Bridge, he preached in his stead."
1 " [1704] April 3. Artil. Company chuses Mr. Henry Gibbs of Watertown to preach their Sermon; chuse Capt Checkley and me to join Commiss'd Officers to acquaint him with it, and desire him to undertake it. . . .
" April 5th, Capt John Ballentine, Lt Tho Savage and Ens Tho. Fitch, Sewall and Check- ley, set out at 2 F. M. bound for Watertown; Find Mr. Gibbs at home, Acquaint him with our Message,
press him earnestly : but can get no Answer, He will give an Answer the 13th after Lecture. I in- vited him to dine with me. Had comfortable going and returning : Call'd at Brooklin as came home. Baited at Remington's. I used Dr. Witsius's Title of's Oration De Theologo Modesto; told him the more Modesty we saw the more vehement we should be in our Assaults." - Sewall Papers, Vol. II., pp. 98, 99.
Adam Winthrop
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Rev. Thomas Bridge,1 born at Hackney, near London, about 1657, came to America, after obtaining a liberal education and travelling in the Mediterranean coun- tries. He settled in Boston, and continued his studies at Harvard College, where he received the degrees of bachelor of arts in 1675, and master of arts in 1712. He first gathered and taught a flock at Jamaica, but removed to the island of New Providence, and from thence to the islands of Bermuda and West Jersey. He removed thence to Boston, the metropolis of English America, where the First Church invited him to become pastor, that they might enjoy the abilities of so experienced a person in the pastoral office which had heretofore been held by famous and able men. He accepted, and was there ordained, May 10, 1705, becoming colleague pastor with Rev. Benjamin Wadsworth.
Rev. William Cooper, in his diary,2 wrote of Mr. Bridge : " He was a man of much piety, devotion, love, humility, meekness, etc., and of great fidelity in the discharge of his office."
The Memorial History of Boston quotes : "' He made a sudden exit from the scene of his labor: leaving behind him a name which is better than precious ointment, and four publications, evincing his concern for the cause of righteousness and the welfare of mankind.' "
He died very suddenly, Sept. 26, 1715, aged fifty-nine years, and in the eleventh of his pastorate over the First Church. Rev. Cotton Mather delivered a funeral sermon on his death, and it was printed in Boston in 1715.
1706-7. The officers elected were : Adam Winthrop (1694), captain ; Timothy Clarke (1702), lieutenant ; John Ballentine, Jr. (1694), ensign. Thomas Hunt (1685) was first sergeant; William Hutchinson (1703), second sergeant ; William Clarke (1703), third sergeant; Oliver Williams (17.02), fourth ser- geant, and Edmund Oakes (1700), clerk.
At a meeting of the inhabitants of the town, held June 10, 1706, it was voted, "That a Committee be appointed to Consider of what shall be needfull to be done about Fortifieing the Town for its defence against the Enemie : and that the S'd Com- mittee do make application to his Excellency the Governor for his approbation therein. . . .
" Elisha Cook Esqr. Elisha Hutchingson Esq. [1670] Penn Townesend Esq. [1674] Collo. Samuel Checkley [1678], and Capt. Oliver Noyes [1699] were chosen to be said committee."
At the next town meeting, held June 12, the committee reported that the Governor signified his approval of fortifying the town, and they proposed that the North Battery be carried out one hundred and twenty feet in length, forty feet in breadth, and eighteen feet to high-water mark. The report was accepted. One thousand pounds were levied on property for the purpose, and the above committee, with the addition of Thomas
" [1705] Seventh day &r. 27th. . It seems the Castle is ordered to be call'd Fort William; and the Governor went down yesterday, and caused the inscription to be set up, a pretty many Guns fired." - Sewall Papers, Vol. II., p. 141.
* " [1715] 7r [Sept.] 26. Between II and 12, Mr. Bridge Expires; with him how much primitive Christianity is gone; The old Church, the Town, the Province have a great Loss. He was particularly dear to me."- Sewall Papers, Vol. III., p. 59.
2 New Eng. Hist. and Gen. Reg., 1876.
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Brattle, Esq., and Capt. Timothy Clarke (1702), were given full power " to manage the affairs of the Fortifications" In October following, another thousand pounds were assessed on the estates of the town for a similar purpose.
The members recruited in 1706 were : Daniel Epes, Samuel Gray, John Smith, and William Tilley.
Daniel Epes (1706), son of Daniel and Elizabeth Epes, of Ipswich, was born in that town March 24, 1649, and graduated at Harvard College in 1669. He married, (1) April 17, 1672, Martha Bordman, of Cambridge, who died Feb. 9, 1692, and, (2) in 1693, Hannah Wainwright, widow, mother of Col. Francis Wainwright (1709).
In 1670, Mr. Epes (1706) began to teach, and for twenty years had charge of the grammar school in Salem. Mr. Dunton, in his Life and Errors, calls him "the most eminent school-master in New England." In 1699, he was succeeded in teaching by Samuel Whitman (Harv. Coll., 1696).
Mr. Epes (1706) was town clerk of Salem, and selectman for several years. It is said that he was " a magistrate and a counsellor for seven years." He was a member of the Essex County militia, became a captain, and was in active service against the Indians. He probably removed to Boston and lived there for a time, as Judge Sewall (1679) wrote, " Mr Epes and family moved to Salem [from Boston], Nov. 12, 1714." He was a representative in the General Court in 1708, 1715, and 1721, and was second sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1710. He died at Salem, Nov. 23, 1722.
Samuel Gray (1706), goldsmith, of Boston, son of Samuel and Susanna Gray, was born in Boston in October, 1684. He was a tithing-man, and a member of the militia in Boston, in 1705. Not long after, he removed to New London, Conn., where he settled, and married Lucy, daughter of Edward Palmes, of that town, and died May 26, 1713, aged twenty-nine years.
John Smith (1706), merchant, of Boston." A John Smith appears as a member of the watch in Boston in 1701. Administration was granted on his estate in 1706.
William Tilley (1706), " rope-maker," of Boston, son of William, was a tithing-man of Boston in 1704, surveyor of highways in 1707, and several times was elected constable, but was excused after each election.
March 30, 1713, William Tilley, Jr. (1706), petitioned the selectmen for liberty to make ropes in South Street (from Summer to the sea, in 1708), where a Mr. Grey formerly did. His petition was granted. March 4, 1717-8, at a meeting of the selectmen, " Liberty is granted John Young and John Vale rope-makers, to improve the Easterly side of South Street, for making of ropes there (as William Tilley [1706] lately did) for and during the Town's pleasure."
William Tilley (1706) was second sergeant of the Company in 1707, and probably died before March 4, 1717-8.
Next following the charter and by-laws of the Company in the "Transcript of the Records of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company," are several lists of the names of members who were fined. The following list seems to have been made
Samuel Gray (1706). AUTHORITY: Boston Records.
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HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
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out in 1706 or 1707. It is valuable as giving the names of some active at that time. The list and its heading are as follows (the year attached signifying the year of joining the Company) : -
"A List of Forty Soldiers that are under 6/ fine for non-appearance, who subscribe to the foregoing Articles.
" Samuel Keeling [1699], David Jesse [1700], John Edwards [1699], Charles Chauncey [1699], John Cotta Jun. [1698], John Adams [1699], Hopestill Foster [1694]. Benjamin Dyar [1691], Richard Proctor [1699], William Clarke, N. Boston [1699], Thomas Hutchinson [1694], John Gerrish [1700], Thomas Fitch [1700], Edward Win- slow [1700], Edmund Knight [1700], Waterhouse Fernley [1700], Henry Jones [1700], Jonathan Pollard [1700], Wigglesworth Sweetsir [1700], Edward Proctor [1699], Edward Oakes [1700], Benjamin Cushing [1700], George Driver [1701], Thomas Godfrey [1701], Thomas Foster [1701], Francis Clarke [1701], Antipas Torrey [1701], John Cookson [1701], Samuel Gaskill, Jun. [1699], Edward Hutchinson [1702], William Dummer [1702], Oliver Williams [1702], Benjamin Simpson [1702], John Mico [1702], Simeon Stoddard Jr. [1702], Seth Dwight [1702], William Keen [1702], John Soames [1702], Lovett Sanders [1702], Isaac Spencer [1702], Ambrose Vincent [1703], William Clark [1703], Thomas Newton [1703], Joseph Briscoe [1703], Henry Bridgham [1703], Henry Lloyd [1703], John Baker [1703], Isaac Queenoicalt [1703], Jonathan Loring [1704], John Smith [1706], Daniel Epes [1706]."
The record of the Artillery Company for 1706 is as follows : -
" April 1. 1706. The Rev'd Mr. William Cotton was chosen to preach the next Election sermon, and the commission officers were desired to request him to preach. Accepted by him."
By an error of the transcriber, probably, the given name William was substituted for Roland.
Rev. Roland Cotton, son of Rev. John Cotton, of Plymouth, and grandson of the famous John Cotton, minister of the First Church in Boston, delivered the Artillery election sermon of 1706. Rev. Roland Cotton was born at Plymouth, Dec. 27, 1667, and graduated at Harvard College in 1685. He married Elizabeth, only daughter of Nathaniel Saltonstall, of Haverhill, and widow of Rev. John Denison. They had five sons, all of whom were ministers. Mr. Cotton settled over the church at Sandwich, and was there ordained, Nov. 2, 1694. He died March 22, 1722.
1707-8. The officers elected were: John Walley (1671), captain ; John Leverett (1704), lieutenant ; Simeon Stoddard (1675), ensign. Ben- jamin Eliot (1707) was first sergeant; William Tilley (1706), second sergeant ; Edward Oakes (1700), third sergeant ; Isaac Spencer (1702), fourth sergeant, and Henry Bridgham (1699), clerk.
The Boston town records of March 8, 1707-8, relate that the appropriation to be laid out in fortifications in 1704 was exceeded by the amount of £12 8s. 4d. It was therefore voted that this deficiency, "including £11. 11. o. due to Mr. Nathaniel Oliver [1701] for bred & beer, . . . be payd out of ye Town Treasur."
Rev. Roland Cotton. AUTHORITY : Sprague's Annals of American Pulpit.
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At the same meeting, Capt. Thomas Hutchinson (1694) called the attention of the inhabitants assembled to the waste lands at Braintree, concerning which there had been a dispute for several years, between the town of Boston and sundry gentlemen, who esteemed themselves as proprietors of said land. It was suggested by him that a com- mittee be appointed by the town to treat with the proprietors and adjust the differences. The proposal was accepted by the town of Boston, and the following committee of five was chosen for the purposes stated. They were all members of the Artillery Company except one, viz. : Daniel Oliver, Capt. Timothy Clarke (1702), Capt. Thomas Fitch (1700), Thomas Cushing (1691), and Capt. Oliver Noyes (1699).
The members recruited in 1707 were : Richard Bill, Edward Bromfield, Benjamin Eliot, Richard Hall, Joseph Hubbard, Ezekiel Lewis, Benjamin Pemberton, William Whitcomb.
Richard Bill (1707), merchant, of Boston, son of Samuel and Elizabeth Bill, and grandson of Thomas Bill (1674), was born in Boston, March 25, 1685. He married a daughter of Capt. Benjamin Davis (1673). He was elected a constable of Boston, March 13, 1709-10, but refused to serve. May 26, 1718, liberty was granted by the selectmen "to Mr. Richard Bill to dig open the highway in Water Street," where he lived, to lay a drain into the sewer. April 3, 1734, he was appointed an auditor of the town treasurer's accounts, and May 25 of that year he gave fifty pounds towards the erection of the new workhouse. He was a councillor from 1737 to 1741 inclusive, and was appointed a justice of the peace, Aug. 28, 1729. He was a visitor, with the clergy and others, to the public schools in June, 1736; June, 1740; June, 1753; July, 1754; June, 1755 ; June, 1756, and June, 1757.
He was first sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1710, ensign in 1716, and lieuten- ant in 1720. He died in 1757, in which year an inventory of the estate of "Hon. Richard Bill, Esq.," was filed.
Edward Bromfield (1707), merchant, of Boston. Doubtless he was the Edward Bromfield who joined the Artillery Company in 1679. See page 252.
Benjamin Eliot (1707), bookseller, etc., of Boston, son of Jacob Eliot, Jr., a "captain in high esteem " and deacon, and grandson of Jacob, elder brother of Rev. John Eliot, of Roxbury, was born in 1665. Ensign Benjamin (1707) was a grand- nephew of Rev. John, the apostle to the Indians, and of Philip Eliot (1638). Jacob, son of Jacob, Jr., died in 1713, at the age of forty years, and left all his estate to his brother, Benjamin Eliot (1707), "the bookbinder." Benjamin (1707) married. (1) Susannah -, who died June 8, 1715, and, (2) Feb. 14, 1722, Elizabeth Jeffries, widow of Charles Shepreve.
June 28, 1703, the selectmen " granted to Benj. Eliot [1707] the shop under the Town House, formerly let to John Howard, Scribener, deceased, for the term of Seven years from this day at 40 Shill. p annum, June 28th Ye dimensions are with inside 9 foot 8 inches in length and 4 foot 12 inches in breadth."
Richard Bill (1707). AUTHORITY: Boston Records.
Benjamin Eliot (1707). AUTHORITIES : Bos-
ton Records; Province Laws, Vol. VII .; New Eng. Ilist. and Gen. Reg., 1869.
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HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
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He died Nov. 9, 1741, aged seventy-six years, and by his will, proved Dec. 8, 1741, left his property to the grandchildren of his sister, Abigail (Eliot) Davis, and of Benjamin Lowder.
He was first sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1707.
Richard Hall (1707), baker, of Boston, son of Richard and Elizabeth (Holbrook) Hall, of Roxbury, was born in Roxbury, Jan. 31, 1683. He was elected a constable of Boston, to which town he had removed, in 1709, and also in 1724, but was excused the latter year. Oct. 7, 1717, Richard Hall was given liberty "to dig open the Highway and so through into Dock Square for laying " a cellar drain.
Lieut. Richard Hall (1707) lived on King Street. April 15, 1718, having changed his business, he petitioned the selectmen for a license to sell strong drink, as an inn- holder, at a tenement of Simeon Stoddard's (1675), in Cornhill, now Washington Street. His application as an innholder was disallowed, as it also was in 1719. July 15, 1719, his petition for license to keep "common victuallin " house and coffee-house, at his house " nigh the town-house in King Street," was allowed, which was regranted in 1720. Having been repeatedly refused an innholder's license, he petitioned again, July 29, 1723, saying, " that he may be further indulged with a license for a trial of his behaviour, and promising to observe the good and wholesome laws of the Province and take especial care to prevent all disorders," etc. The license was granted, but refused the next year. In 1728, July 5, his last application to retail strong drink in " Maulboro," now Washing- ton, Street, was disallowed. For one year, 1722-3, he occupied a part of the cellar of the town-house, paying nine pounds per annum.
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