USA > Massachusetts > History of the Military company of the Massachusetts, now called the Ancient and honorable artillery company of Massachusetts. 1637-1888, Vol. II > Part 30
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The first glass-works in Boston were located in what is now Edinboro' Street, and were established in 1787. After many embarrassments the company began the manu- facture of window-glass in November, 1793. Mr. Gore (1786) was one of the originators of this enterprise. It proved a speculation in which he lost all the accumulations of many years of untiring industry. He became a member of the Lodge of St Andrew in 1778, and was the first treasurer of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association. He was considered a valuable and influential member of this association, but withdrew from it about the time of the failure of the glass company. He was a man of superior intelligence, kindness of heart, and courtesy of manner.
Francis Green (1786), glazier, of Boston, son of William and Elizabeth Green, of Charlestown, was born Jan. 18, 1750. He married (1) (published April 29, 1773) Eliza- beth Brown, and (2) (published Oct. 1, 1795) Mary, daughter of Benj. Henderson. His place of business was on Ann Street, and his dwelling-house on Sheafe's Lane, now Avery Street. He was third sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1787.
He was commissioned a second lieutenant in Col. Paterson's regiment, March 27, 1777 ; first lieutenant in Col. Vose's (first) regiment ; commissioned captain, Aug. 30, 1780 ; deputy muster-master, in Rhode Island, Feb. 12, 1778, to Jan. 12, 1780, and left the army Nov. 3, 1783. He was vice-president of the Massachusetts Society of the Cin- cinnati, 1829-31. His son, Ellis B. Green, was a captain of a company in the Mexican War. Francis Green (1786) died Sept. 2, 1831, aged eighty-one years.
Samuel Greenough (1786), shop-keeper, of Boston, son of Major Newman (1740) and Elizabeth (Montfort) Greenough, was born in Boston in 1748. His shop was No. 69 Cornhill, now Washington Street. He was clerk of the Artillery Company in 1789, and its first sergeant in 1792. He died at Dorchester, Aug. 22, 1796, aged forty- eight years, and on " the following day he was buried from his late home in Dorchester." The Centinel adds, " A highly valued citizen . . . a worthy, honest man."
Samuel Hastings (1786), store-keeper, of Boston. He was lieutenant of the Ward 11 military company, Boston, in 1787-8, and was fourth sergeant of the Artillery Com- pany in 1791. He was a store-keeper in December, 1781, when he paid the "duties of excise for the county of Boston," and was relicensed for the year next following. The Boston directory of 1789 calls Samuel Hastings a shop-keeper, on Newbury Street, and of 1796 calls him a grocer, Orange Street, house Rainsford Lane.
Zechariah Hicks (1786), saddler, of Boston, son of John and Elizabeth (Nutting) Hicks, was born in Cambridge, Feb. 28, 1755. His father was one of the first martyrs to American liberty, having been slain near the junction of North Avenue and Spruce Street by the retreating British troops, April 19, 1775. Lieut. Hicks (1786) married his wife in 1779, by whom he had fourteen children, seven of whom were living at the time of his death.
Francis Green (1786). AUTHORITIES: Wy- man's Charlestown Genealogies and Estates; Boston Records; Memorials of Mass. Society of the Cin- cinnati; New Eng. Mag., 1831, p. 366.
Samuel Greenough (1786). AUTHORITY : Boston Records.
Zechariah Hicks (1786). AUTHORITIES : Paige's Hist. of Cambridge; Whitman's Hist. A. and H. A. Company, Ed. 1842; Annals of Mass. Char. Mech. Association.
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He served an apprenticeship with Thomas Patten, a saddler, of Watertown. At the age of twenty-one years he moved to Boston, and opened a saddler's shop in Corn- hill, now Washington Street, where he continued for thirty-one years. The march of improvement, the widening of the street, compelled his removal, and he relocated and continued his business in Court Street until he was eighty years of age. He was one of the marshals of the grand civic procession which escorted Gen. Washington into Boston in 1789. In the war of the Revolution, he enlisted as a volunteer, and was ordered to Newport, but was not actively engaged in any battle with the enemy. He was one of the body-guard of Gen. Heath (1765) when that officer had his headquarters in Boston. He was first sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1789, and its lieutenant in 1791. He served two terms as a member of the House of Representatives. Lieut. Hicks (1786) was recognized " as an upright, prudent, industrious mechanic." He was a disciple of the Rev. John Murray, and was ardently attached to him from the beginning to the end of his ministry in Boston.
After the death of Mr. Murray, Mr. Hicks (1786) withdrew from the Universalists, supposing they had departed from the principles of the original apostle of the sect. He died May 10, 1842, aged eighty-seven years, being universally regarded as " an honest and a good man."
"The intelligence of his death surprised and startled many, for during the week preceding he was seen walking in the public places of the city, with his well-known firm and manly step, and exhibiting on his countenance the complacent smile which, for half a century, had appeared as the surest indication of a light heart, a clear conscience, and a mild and generous disposition."
Alexander Hodgdon (1786), of Boston, son of Benjamin and Rebecca (Marshall) Hodgdon, was born in 1741. He married (1) Mary Carrel,1 who died very suddenly, Jan. 27, 1791. He married, (2) Oct. 6, 1793, Nancy Lewis, of Dedham, sister of Polly, wife of Andrew Cunningham (1786). Nancy (Lewis) Hodgdon married, Jan. 13. 1803, William Stackpole. Gen. Stevens, who married Mr. Hodgdon's (1786) sister, related to his son, in regard to the throwing of the tea overboard : -
" I went from the Old South meeting-house just after dark. The party was seventy or eighty. At the head of the wharf we met the detachment of our company, Adino Paddock's [1762] company of artillery, on guard, who joined us. I commenced with a party on board the vessel of which Hodgdon [1786] was mate (the 'Dartmouth '), and as he knew me, I left that vessel, with some of my comrades, and went aboard another vessel, which lay at the opposite side of the wharf. Numbers of others took our places on Hodgdon's [1786] vessel," etc.
In May, 1775, Alexander Hodgdon (1786) was clerk of the committee chosen in Boston to receive and distribute the donations made in behalf of the suffering. He was secretary of the Massachusetts Charitable Society, and treasurer of the Marine Society. He was elected treasurer of the county of Suffolk, and took the oath of office before the Honorable Court of Sessions, Feb. 14, 1785, and was re-elected by the almost unanimous vote of the county. He was State treasurer from 17872 to 1792, when the treasurer's
Alexander Hodgdon (1786). AUTHORITIES : Boston Records; Whitman's Hist. A. and HI. A. Company, Ed. 1842; Crane's Tea Leaves, 1773.
1 His mother-in-law, Jane Carrel, died Dec. 31, 1786, aged seventy-six years, and was buried from his house in Summer Street.
2 April 27, 1787, he succeeded Thomas Ivers, treasurer and receiver-general of the commonwealth, who died April 10, 1787, aged fifty-seven years, and was buried from the Province House.
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office was in the room under the council chamber in the Province House, after which from October, 1792, to July, 1795, he was cashier of the Union Bank, Boston, now the National Union Bank, No. 40 State Street. The Columbian Centinel remarked, July 28, 1792, "Mr. Hodgdon [1786] need not be particularly recommended as cashier of the Union Bank. His abilities, integrity and industry, all speak loudly in his behalf."
March 20, 1795, he purchased the estate in Dedham, corner of Court and Highland streets, now the estate of Mrs. Edward M. Richards. Aug. 12, 1797, Mr. Hodgdon (1786) died in Dedham of a complication of diseases, aged fifty-six years, and his widow married, Jan 13, 1803, William Stackpole, Jr., of Boston. The Dedham estate was sold by Nancy Hodgdon, Dec. 18, 1802, to Samuel Richards, father of Edward M. Richards.
John Johnston (1786), portrait painter, - Water Street, Boston, 1789, and Harvard Street in 1796, - of Boston, son of Thomas1 and Bathsheba (Thwing) Johnston, was born in 1753, and died June 28, 1818. He married (published Dec. 21, 1773) Susanna Overlake. Mr. Drake says he married - Spear, by whom he had several children, only two of whom were married and had children. He was second sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1787, ensign in 1788, and lieutenant in 1790.
John Johnston (1786) was in his youth apprenticed to learn the painter's business, to John Gore (1743), father of Samuel (1786). Before the war began, he joined the Artillery Company commanded by Col. Adino Paddock (1762). In April, 1775, he joined Col Gridley's regiment of artillery as lieutenant, was captain-lieutenant in Col. Knox's regiment in 1776, and was wounded and taken prisoner on Long Island, Aug. 27, 1776. He was discharged from the service, on account of wounds, in October, 1777. He returned to Boston, and again pursued his chosen profession, opening a shop "on Court Street, near the head of Gore's Alley." He was captain of an independent com- pany of artillery in 1787 and 1792.
Mr. Drake mentions, among the portraits painted by John Johnston (1786), "those of Gov. Increase Sumner, in the Massachusetts Senate Chamber ; Gov. William Phillips and family ; Major Samuel Shaw ; Gov. Samuel Adams, and of Mrs. Adams." One of his pictures was the sign of the Good Samaritan, kept by Thomas Bartlett (1793), apothecary, originally painted with a priest passing by on the other side. This was soon erased, the portrait and costume of the Rev. Dr. Walter, of Christ Church, with his full wig, being so exactly represented that the likeness was easily recognized.
James Lanman (1786) was a baker in Boston He married (1) Susanna Dawes, daughter of Story and Sarah (Paine) Dawes. Story Dawes was a brother of William (1760). Mr. Lanman (1786) married (2) Susanna Goldthwait, daughter of Benjamin (1740) and Sarah (Dawes) "Goldthwait, and granddaughter of Story Dawes. His dwelling-house was on Temple Street. Oct. 14, 1785, he bought of William Dawes (1760) the Temple Street estate (so called).
John Johnston (1786). AUTHORITIES: Gene- alogy of Thwing Family; Drake's Biog. Notices of the Mass. Soc. of the Cincinnati.
1 This is the Thomas Johnson who joined the Artillery Company in 1742. In the original roll, the "t" in Johnston is omitted, though Mr. Whit- man (1810), in his history, inserted it. The "t" is
also omitted in the father's name in the Boston Records. This relationship is confirmed in the Memorials of the Mass. Soc. of the Cincinnati, p. 293. Mr. Bridgman, in Memorials of King's Chapel Burial-Ground, says Thomas Johnston died in 1776, not in 1765, as before stated.
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Benjamin Lincoln (1786), yeoman, of Hingham, son of Col. Benjamin and Mrs. Elizabeth (Thaxter) (Norton) Lincoln, was born in Hingham, Jan 24, 1732-3, in the house in which he died. His father was a farmer, which occupation Gen. Lincoln (1786) followed until more than forty years of age. He enjoyed no advantages of early education proportionate to the eminence he attained. He owed something to culture, much to circumstances. He was town clerk for many years, selectman from 1765 to 1771 inclusive, also a magistrate, and was a representative in 1773, 1774, 1775, 1788, and 1789. His first military office was that of adjutant of the Third Regiment, in Suffolk County, in July, 1755 ; was promoted to be major in 1763, and lieutenant-colonel in Jan- uary, 1772, when the war broke out. He was a member of the Provincial Congress, which assembled in 1774 and 1775 at Concord, Cambridge, and Watertown, and a sincere, determined, though temperate, Whig.
Upon the news of the battles of Lexington and Concord, he summoned the military under his command, with a view of repairing to the scene of action. The return of the royal troops to Boston, the same night, prevented his marching. He was appointed a brigadier-general in February, 1776, a major-general in May next following, and was much employed in disciplining the militia On the 2d of August, 1776, he was appointed to command the troops of the State doing duty at and near the harbor of Boston. The impression entertained of his military talents, and of his influence with the militia, caused the General Court, in September, 1776, to give him the command of the regi- ments to be raised by the State to reinforce the army under the commander-in-chief in New York and New Jersey, which had now become the seat of the war. Feb. 11, 1777, he arrived at Gen. Washington's camp. The commander-in-chief, while at Cambridge and Boston, had become acquainted with him, and recommended him to Congress as an excellent officer, whom it was desirable to place in the Continental line. Accord- ingly, soon after he joined the army in February, 1777, he was created by Congress a major-general. The calm courage and good judgment of Gen. Lincoln (1786) were always evident. He was first attached to the Northern Army, under Gen. Schuyler, and afterwards under Gen. Gates. He was severely wounded in the leg, Oct. 8, 1777, which caused his removal, first to Albany and afterwards to Hingham. He was not able to take the field till Ang. 7, 1778, and his restoration was not complete until long after- wards.
No inconsiderable share in the success of the Northern Army, in the capture of Burgoyne, has been always ascribed to Gen. Lincoln (1786). His excellent character as a man, and his military reputation, induced the delegates from South Carolina to request Congress to appoint him to the chief command in the Southern Department. He arrived at Charleston, S. C., early in December, 1778. His campaigns in the Southern Department were meritorious but unsuccessful, and ended in the surrender of Charles- ton, May 12, 1780, when he was taken prisoner. He was admitted to parole, and in the summer returned to Hingham. In November following, he was, to his great joy, exchanged.
On the commencement of the campaign of 1781, Gen. Lincoln (1786) joined the army under Washington, occupying the high grounds on the North River, with a view to operations against New York. Before the end of the summer, the plan of the campaign was changed, and the movements of the army were directed against Lord Cornwallis, in
Benjamin Lincoln (1786). AUTHORITIES: Lincoln's Hist. of Hingham; Whitman's Hist. A. and H. A. Company, Ed. 1842; Memorials of the Mass. Soc. of the Cincinnati.
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Virginia. Gen. Lincoln (1786) commanded the central division at the siege of York- town, and had his full share of the honor of that brilliant and auspicious event. The articles of capitulation stipulated for the same honors in favor of the surrendering army as had been granted to the garrison at Charleston. Gen. Lincoln (1786) was appointed to conduct them to the field where the arms were deposited, and receive the customary submission.
Oct. 31, 1781, he was chosen secretary of war, with power to retain his rank in the army. He resided at Philadelphia until October, 1783, when he resigned the secretary- ship. Having thus laid down the load of public cares, he retired with heartfelt pleasure to the repose of private life. His military service had not increased his property, and he resumed his farm. Neither his circumstances nor his disposition would permit him to be idle. Although he had intended to avoid public employments, he was persuaded to take command of the first division of the militia of the State. He was willing, with other distinguished officers of the late army, to make a considerable sacrifice to preserve to the community the benefit of the military knowledge acquired by the experience of the war.
In 1786-7, an insurrection took place in Massachusetts. Gen. Lincoln (1786) was appointed to command the militia, between four and five thousand, detached to restore order. He was selected as commissioner, with others, to negotiate with the different Indian tribes ; and, while on a similar duty with the Creeks, in 1789, he had the pleasure of meeting Gen. Washington for the first time since 1783, and on his return stopped at Mount Vernon. His aid was solicited in framing the first militia law of the United States, and when the committee had the subject under consideration he introduced a clause to preserve the ancient privileges and customs of such independent corps as were then created by charter or otherwise. Gen. Blount, of Carolina, one of the com- mittee, was vehemently opposed to any such clause, when Gen. Lincoln (1786) stated the origin and claims of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. Blount, in a passion and with a sneer, exclaimed, "And, pray, who in h-1 commands this Ancient and Honorable Company?" Gen. Lincoln (1786) calmly replied, " Your very humble servant." This put Blount and his adherents to silence, and the clause was included in the act. Thus the original charter, usages, and privileges of the Artillery Company are confirmed by Congress.
In April, 1787, Gen. Lincoln (1786) had a plurality of votes for lieutenant-governor, and was elected by the Legislature. He was a member of the convention for ratifying the new constitution, and, in 1789, was made collector of the port of Boston, which office he held until March 1, 1809, when his earnest desire to resign was complied with by Mr. Jefferson. In this station he acquitted himself with judgment, fidelity, and success, never forgetting his allegiance to the government, and never giving cause to any to complain of the insolence of office.
Harvard University gave him, in 1780, the honorary degree of A. M. He was one of the first members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of the Massa- chusetts Historical Society. The latter has an elegant portrait of Gen. Lincoln (1786) in military costume. He was president of the Society of the Cincinnati from its founda- tion until his decease, and was commander of the Artillery Company in 1788.
Gen. Lincoln (1786) married, at Pembroke, Mass., Jan. 15, 1756, Mary, daughter of Elijah and Elizabeth (Barker) Cushing. He died May 9, 1810. His widow died in Hingham, Jan. 23, 1816, aged eighty-two years.
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"The person and air of Gen. Lincoln [1786] betokened his military vocation. He was of middle height, erect, muscular, with open, intelligent features, a venerable and benign aspect. His manners were easy and unaffected, but courteous and polite."
John Lucas (1786), baker, of Boston, was born in 1738. The minutes of the selectmen's records of Boston for July 21, 1765, contain the following : "Mr. John Hunt, of Boston, informs that he has let a house, near Dock Square, to John Lucas, who has a wife and several children. They have not been long in town; came last from Plymouth, but had before that lived in Connecticut."
A John Lucas married, March 8, 1764, in Boston, Abigail Bowers. John Lucas (1786) married, Nov. 3, 1765, Hannah, daughter of William Dawes (1760), and sister of William Dawes, Jr. (1768). She was born Sept. 19, 1743, joined the Old South Church April 7, 1765, and died April 11, 1803. They had no children. Mr. Lucas (1786) subsequently married the widow of Ebenezer Dawes, "a lady of very pleasing personal accomplishments." It is to this lady, Mrs. Elizabeth Dawes, that Mr. Whitman (1810), in his history of the Artillery Company, refers : "In old age [about 1805], Mr. Lucas [1786] married a celebrated preceptress of Hingham Academy; but, with all her accomplishments, she failed to render him happy." She held the position of preceptress from 1796 to 1804. After the death of Mr. Lucas (1786) she married Dr. Williams, of Deerfield, whom she survived.
Mr. Lucas (1786) was prominent among the tradesmen in town, very wealthy, active in public matters, and a commissary of Continental pensioners. Lucas Street, in Boston, was named for him. In 1784, a change came over the Common. Two persons were especially active in obtaining subscriptions and improving the Common. One of them was John Lucas (1786), whose office as commissary of pensioners was in Orange, now Washington, Street. Having raised two hundred and eighty-five pounds fourteen shillings and seven pence, he expended it in setting out trees and raising the low portions of the ground. Jan. 7, 1788, Mr. Lucas (1786) was moderator of a meeting of trades- men in Boston, who met to protest against the report, industriously circulated, that the tradesmen of Boston were opposed to the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, as proposed Sept. 17, 1787. He was identified with the military, and held the grade of captain, and united with the Old South Church, Dec. 18, 1763.
Aug. 7, 1776, Mr. Lucas (1786) was drawn as a juror for a maritime court; Dec. 19, 1776, he was drafted for service in the Continental Army, but paid the fine rather than serve ; in 1782, when paying his excise tax, he is called " Esquire," and held the office of selectman of Boston in 1784. He was chosen a surveyor of wheat from 1769 to 1780 inclusive, and in 1784 ; warden in 1779 ; was appointed, Nov. 8, 1776, to ascertain the damage to Boston since the Boston Port Bill went into effect ; was one of the com- mittee selected March 5, 1782, to thank George Richards Minot, Esq., "for his spirited and eloquent oration . .. in commemoration of the horrid massacre, March 5, 1770." He also served on many other committees, and was active in filling the various quotas of Boston for the Continental Army.
John Lucas (1786) died in Brookline, Sept. 12, 1812, aged seventy-four years. He gave, in his will, to Judge Dawes, whose father was a cousin to Mr. Lucas's (1786) wife,
John Lucas (1786). AUTHORITIES: Boston Records; Whitman's Hist. A. and H. A. Company, Ed. 1842; Shurtleff's Des. of Boston.
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Hannah Dawes, an estate in Court Street worth ten thousand dollars, "for his early friendship."
" Newspaper eulogy seldom deserves much notice; for mankind are so prone to deify departed friends, that sober and discreet men turn aside from praises of the dead, often not merited, and are unwilling that those should be sent to Heaven, whose claims on it were somewhat doubtful on earth. Still, we cannot behold age, worth, virtue, piety, eccentricity, and vice, sink promiscuonsly into the tomb undistinguished.
"Mr. Lucas [1786] was an instance of successful industry as a mechanic, and an example to others that assidnity, patience, and good character ensure a competency of fortune, respectability, and influence. With the imperfections incident to human nature, Mr. Lucas [1786] possessed many valuable traits of character, and, with considerable eccentricity, a kind and feeling heart. His good deeds, his active life, his useful career, demand honorable mention ; are calculated to stimulate the enterprising and cheer the industrious, and leave a memorial of gratitude and respect in the memory of many friends." 1
John May (1786) was a descendant of an ancestor of the same name (born in England in 1590, admitted a freeman in 1641, and died in 1670) who migrated to America about 1640, with wife and two sons, John and Samnel, and settled in Roxbury. The younger members of the family went soon after to Connecticut. From one of these, who lived in Pomfret, Conn., Col. John May (1786) descended. He was born Nov. 24, 1748. He did not long remain in his native home, but when quite young came to Boston, and, tradition says, served his apprenticeship with a relative, Col. Ephraim May (1765). Becoming established in business for himself, he married, in 1773, Abigail May. His place of business was on Fish, now North, Street. The latter, between Fleet Street and Sun Court, on the west side of North Street, and near the head of Hancock's Wharf, a three-story brick building, was built and first occupied by Edward Hutchinson (1702). At the close of the Revolution it was known as the North End Coffee-House, kept by Capt. David Porter, grandfather of Admiral Porter, U. S. N. It next became the residence of Jonathan Amory, who was succeeded by Col. John May (1786). The building subsequently became the Mariners' House, under the direction of the Boston Port Society. On the day of the battle of Bunker Hill, the house was used as a hospital, and many of the wounded were placed for amputation on the long dining-room table. As long as the house stood, the blood-stains were distinctly seen on the floor.
Col. May's (1786) life was mostly passed in Boston, though he lived some years in Portland, Me., where two or three of his children were born. Oct. 11, 1778, he was commissioned adjutant of the Boston regiment, and was afterward regularly promoted to major, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel. The date of the last commission was Jan. 19, 1787. In a letter from Gov. Bowdoin to Gen. Washington, dated April 2, 1788, apparently one of introduction, the former writes of Col. May (1786) : " He distinguished himself in the service of the United States at Rhode Island, under the Count de Rochambeau," and remarks further : " By his exertions the Boston regiment of militia, of which he is colonel, is esteemed in regard to appearance and discipline at least equal to any regiment of militia on the continent."
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